Towards recovery of an endangered island endemic: Distributional and behavioral responses of Key Largo woodrats associated with exotic predator removal
Michael V. Cove, Theodore Simons, Beth Gardner, Allan F. O’Connell
2019, Biological Conservation (237) 423-429
Exotic predators create novel ecological contexts for native species, particularly when prey exhibit predator naïve behaviors. Population recovery of island endemic species following predator eradication has been documented broadly, but studies examining mammalian prey behavioral responses to exotic predator removal are less common. The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli)...
Population dynamics and evaluation of management scenarios for white sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin
Shannon E. Blackburn, Marty L. Gingras, Jason DuBois, Zachary J. Jackson, Michael C. Quist
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 896-912
Recent surveys suggest a declining population of White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River basin (SSJ), California. Probable reasons for the decline include overharvest and habitat degradation compounded by poor recruitment during recent droughts. Despite the importance and status of White Sturgeon, knowledge of their population dynamics in the SSJ...
Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat
Sara L. Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Emily J. Sturdivant, Daniel H. Catlin, James D. Fraser, A. Hecht, Sarah M. Karpanty, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Coastal storms have consequences for human lives and infrastructure but also create important early successional habitats for myriad species. For example, storm-induced overwash creates nesting habitat for shorebirds like piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We examined how piping plover habitat extent and location changed on barrier islands in New York, New...
Decision analysis for the reintroduction of Bull Trout into the lower Pend Oreille River, Washington
Joseph R. Benjamin, William R. Brignon, Jason B. Dunham
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 1026-1045
The decision to reintroduce a species can be difficult owing to conflicting opinions and objectives, as well as uncertainty of the outcome. Structured decision making addresses these considerations by identifying realistic fundamental objectives and building achievable management alternatives, within a quantitative modeling framework. The process is driven by participation of...
Spatial and temporal variation of ecosystem properties at macroscales
Patricia A. Soranno, Tyler Wagner, Sarah M. Collins, Jean-Francois Lapierre, Samantha K. Oliver
2019, Ecology Letters (22) 1587-1598
Although spatial and temporal variation in ecological properties has been well-studied, crucial knowledge gaps remain for studies conducted at macroscales and for ecosystem properties related to material and energy. We test four propositions of spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem properties within a macroscale (1000 km's) extent. We fit Bayesian hierarchical...
Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California
R. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. Pigati
2019, Journal of Quaternary Science (34) 499-508
Arlington Canyon, in the northwest part of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has been the setting for important scientific discoveries over the past half century, including the oldest human remains in North America, several vertebrate fossil sites, and purported evidence of a catastrophic extinction event at the...
Using UAS capabilities to help identify hummock-hollow formation and fragmentation in critical marsh habitat (Spartina patens) for mottled ducks in southeast Texas
William R. Jones, Stephen B. Hartley, Camille L. Stagg, Michael J. Osland
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1045
For many years, marshes in the coastal areas from Texas to Louisiana have served as critical habitat for Anas fulvigula, the mottled duck. Mottled ducks are a priority species in the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast area and have been affected by critical habitat reduction. In recent years, mottled duck habitats have...
Climate vulnerability assessment for Pacific salmon and steelhead in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem
Lisa G Crozier, Michelle M McClure, Tim J. Beechie, Steven J. Bograd, David A. Boughton, Mark H. Carr, Thomas D. Cooney, Jason B. Dunham, Correigh M. Greene, Melissa A Haltuch, Elliott L. Hazen, Damon M Holzer, David D. Huff, Rachel C. Johnson, Chris E Jordan, Issac C Kaplan, Steven T Lindley, Nathan J Mantua, Peter B. Moyle, James M Myers, Mark W Nelson, Brian C Spence, Laurie A. Weitkamp, Thomas H. Williams, Ellen Willis-Norton
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Major ecological realignments are already occurring in response to climate change. To be successful, conservation strategies now need to account for geographical patterns in traits sensitive to climate change, as well as climate threats to species-level diversity. As part of an effort to provide such information, we conducted...
The bee fauna of coastal Napatree Point and two inland sites in southern Rhode Island
Aya Rothwell, Howard S. Ginsberg
2019, Northeastern Naturalist (26) 446-464
We surveyed the bee fauna at Napatree Point, a coastal barrier beach in southwestern Rhode Island, using bee-bowl and netting samples, and compared results to bee-bowl samples at 2 inland sites. We collected a total of 53 species and morphospecies at Napatree Point, including 5 likely Rhode Island state records...
Resource Assessment Economic Filter (RAEF)—A graphical user interface supporting implementation of simple engineering mine cost analyses of quantitative mineral resource assessment simulations
Jason L. Shapiro, Robinson Jr.
2019, Techniques and Methods 7-C23
Economic evaluations of undiscovered mineral resources provide important context in which to consider the results of quantitative mineral resource assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey economic analysis method uses a simple engineering cost model approach developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines that applies mine and mill engineering cost equations to...
Endless forams: >34,000 modern planktonic foraminiferal images for taxonomic training and automated species recognition using convolutional neural networks
Allison Y. Hsiang, Anieke Brombacher, Marina Costa Rillo, Maryline J. Mleneck-Vautravers, Stephen Connett, Sian Lordsmith, Anna Jentzen, Michael J. Henehan, Brett Metcalfe, Isabel Fenton, Bridget Wade, Lyndsey Fox, Julie Meilland, Catherine V. Davis, Ulrike Baranowski, Jeroen Groeneveld, Kirsty M. Edgar, Aurore Movellan, Tracy Aze, Harry J. Dowsett, Giles Miller, Nelson Rios, Pincelli M. Hull
2019, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (34) 1157-1177
Accurate planktonic foraminiferal species identification is central to many paleoceanographic studies, from selecting specific species for geochemical research to elucidating the biotic dynamics of microfossil communities relevant to physical oceanographic processes and interconnected phenomena such as climate change. However, species identification varies among taxonomic schools, few resources exist to train...
The importance of simulation assumptions when evaluating detectability in population models
Adrian P. Monroe, Gregory T. Wann, Cameron L. Aldridge, Peter S. Coates
2019, Ecosphere (10)
Population monitoring is important for investigating a variety of ecological questions, and N-mixture models are increasingly used to model population size (N) and trends (lambda) while estimating detectability (p) from repeated counts within primary periods (when populations are closed to changes). Extending these models to dynamic processes with serial dependence...
Giving ecological meaning to satellite-derived fire severity metrics across North American forests
Sean Parks, Lisa M. Holsinger, Michael J. Koontz, Luke S. Collins, Ellen Whitman, Marc-Andre Parisien, Rachel A. Loehman, Jennifer L. Barnes, Jean-Francois Bourdon, Jonathan Boucher, Yan Boucher, Anthony C. Caprio, Adam Collingwood, Ron Hall, Jane Park, Lisa Saperstein, Charlotte Smetanka, Rebecca A. Smith, Nick Soverel
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
Satellite-derived spectral indices such as the relativized burn ratio (RBR) allow fire severity maps to be produced in a relatively straightforward manner across multiple fires and broad spatial extents. These indices often have strong relationships with field-based measurements of fire severity, thereby justifying their widespread use in management and science....
Monitoring breeding and survival of ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) in the Sacramento Valley, Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and Klamath Basin, northern California—Five-year summary, 2013–17
Ian A. Dwight, Peter S. Coates, Jessica H. Vogt, Joseph L. Atkinson, Joseph P. Fleskes, Daniel P. Connelly, Matt G. Meshriy, Scott C. Gardner, Simone T. Stoute, Maurice E. Pitesky
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1062
The U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center, Pheasants Forever, Mandeville Island Duck Club, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife collaborated in a reconnaissance study to monitor populations of ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) using radio-telemetry in the Sacramento Valley, Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and Klamath Basin of...
A Methodology to Assess the National and Regional Impacts of U.S. Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats
James E. Diffendorfer, J.A. Beston, Matthew D. Merrill, Jessica C. Stanton, M.D. Corum, S.R. Loss, W.E. Thogmartin, D.H. Johnson, R.A. Erickson, K.W. Heist
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5157
This scientific investigations report describes an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that used research, monitoring data, and modeling to develop a methodology to assess both the current and future population-level consequences of wind energy development on species of birds and bats that are present in the United States...
The use of continuous water-quality time-series data to compute nutrient loadings for selected Iowa streams, 2008–17
Jessica D. Garrett
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5054
In support of nutrient reduction efforts, nitrate (as nitrate plus nitrite) and phosphorus loads and yields were computed for selected streams in Iowa based on continuously monitored sensor data for 2008–17 and 2014–17, respectively. Sample data were used to assess nitrate sensor bias and to create phosphorus-turbidity surrogate models. Where...
Bayesian statistics for beginners: A step-by-step approach
Therese M. Donovan, Ruth M. Mickey
2019, Book
Bayesian statistics is currently undergoing something of a renaissance. At its heart is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability for a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. It is an approach that is ideally suited to making initial assessments...
Natural hazards and mineral commodity supply: Quantifying risk of earthquake disruption to South American copper supply
Emily K. Schnebele, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Nico Luco, Nedal T. Nassar
2019, Resources Policy (63)
Mineral resources, and their mining and enrichment operations, are not equally distributed across Earth. The concentration of mineral supply in certain regions, owing to the geology or geography of the mineral resource, raises the level of risk related to supply disruption. Where mineral production coincides with areas prone to natural...
Global observational needs and resources for marine biodiversity
Gabrielle Canonico, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Enrique Montes, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Carol Stepien, Dawn J. Wright, Abigail Benson, Brian Helmuth, Mark John Costello, Isabel Sousa-Pinto, Hanieh Saeedi, Jan Newton, Ward Appeltans, Nina Bednarsek, Levente Bodrossy, Benjamin D. Best, Angelika Brandt, Kelly D Goodwin, Katrin Iken, Antonio C Marquez, Patricia Miloslavich, Martin Ostrowski, Woody Turner, Eric P Achterberg, Tom Barry, Omar DeFeo, Gregorio Bigatti, Lea-Anne Henry, Berta Ramiro-Sanchez, Pablo Duran, Telmo Morato, J. Murray Roberts, Ana Garcia-Alegre, Mar Sacau Cuadrado, Bramley Murton
2019, Frontiers in Marine Science (6)
The diversity of life in the sea is critical to the health of ocean ecosystems that support living resources and therefore essential to the economic, nutritional, recreational, and health needs of billions of people. Yet there is evidence that the biodiversity of many marine habitats is being altered in response...
Geochronologic, isotopic, and geochemical data from igneous rocks in the Lane Mountain area, San Bernardino County, California
Paul Stone, Howard J. Brown, M. Robinson Cecil, Robert J. Fleck, Jorge A. Vazquez, John A. Fitzpatrick, Jose J. Rosario
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1070
We present new geochronologic, isotopic, and geochemical data for selected igneous rocks in the Lane Mountain area, California. We determined SHRIMP-RG U-Pb zircon ages for the following units: (1) Larrea complex (~253 Ma and ~149–146 Ma); (2) Daisy granodiorite (~151 Ma); (3) Jack Spring quartz monzonite (~85–82 Ma); (4) unnamed...
Preliminary report on engineering and geological effects of the July 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
Scott J Brandenberg, Pengfei Wang, Chukwuebuka C Nweke, Kenneth Hudson, Silvia Mazzoni, Yousef Bozorgnia, Kenneth W. Hudnut, Craig A. Davis, Sean K Ahdi, Farzin Zareian, Jawad Fayaz, Richard D Koehler, Colin Chupik, Ian Pierce, Alana Williams, Sinan Akciz, Martin B Hudson, Tadahiro Kishida, Benjamin A. Brooks, Ryan D. Gold, Daniel J. Ponti, Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Christopher DuRoss, Todd Ericksen, Janis Hernandez, Jay Patton, Brian Olson, Timothy E. Dawson, Jerome Treiman, Kelly Blake, Jeffrey Buchhuber, Chris L M Madugo, Joseph Sun, Andrea Donnellan, Greg Lyzenga, Erik Conway
Jonathan P. Stewart, editor(s)
2019, Report
The Ridgecrest Earthquake sequence included a foreshock event on July 4 2019 (M6.4) and a M7.1 mainshock event on July 5 2019. These events occurred in the Eastern California Shear Zone, near Indian Wells Valley, south of China Lake and west of Searles Valley. GEER has partnered with several organizations...
Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
Gregory A. Wetherbee, Pamela H. Templar, Richard V. Pouyat, Stephen M. Decina, Brian M. Kerschner, Thomas H. Whitlow, Pamela E. Padgett, Donna B. Schwede, Jill Baron, David Clow, M. Alisa Mast, Graham A. Sexstone, Kristi H. Morris
2019, Report
The objectives of this white paper are to describe the state of the science with respect to total Nr deposition budgets in North America and the research needed to improve these budgets from both a measurement and modeling standpoint. The document is intended to serve as a plan for...
Root-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales
Mariela Garcia Arredondo, Corey Lawrence, Marjorie S. Schulz, Malak M. Tfaily, Ravi K. Kukkadapu, Morris E. Jones, Kristin Boye, Marco Keiluweit
2019, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (263) 68-84
Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia. Conversely,...
Monitoring storm tide, flooding, and precipitation from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, September 2017
Michael J. Byrne Sr.
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1065
Hurricane Maria made landfall south of Yabucoa Harbor, Puerto Rico, as a category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour on September 20, 2017. The hurricane devastated much of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Federal Emergency...
Contact rates with nesting birds before and after invasive snake removal: Estimating the effects of trap-based control
Amy A. Yackel Adams, Melia G. Nafus, Page Klug, Bjorn Lardner, M.J. Mazurek, Julie A. Savidge, Robert Reed
2019, NeoBiota (49)
Invasive predators are responsible for almost 60% of all vertebrate extinctions worldwide with the most vulnerable faunas occurring on islands. The brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) is a notorious invasive predator that caused the extirpation or extinction of most native forest birds on Guam. The...
