Determining the effects of reduced water availability on seed germination of five bottomland hardwood tree species
Charles J. Pell, Sammy L. King, Tracy S. Hawkins, Matt Symmank
2025, Forest Ecology and Management (577)
Globally, floodplain forests are experiencing shifts in species composition associated with drier conditions and disruptions of flood pulse hydrology. The specific processes behind these shifts in composition are not fully understood, but differential effects of drought on regeneration processes such as seed germination may be partially responsible. To determine how...
Update of the 2008 provisional Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) assessment for the Great Basin, USA
Erick R. Burns, Junyuan Zhang, Hongbin Zhan, Colin F. Williams
2025, Conference Paper, Proceedings 50th Stanford Geothermal Workshop
In response to the Energy Act of 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is updating the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) resource assessment for the Great Basin, USA. The previous 2008 provisional assessment estimated how much electricity could be generated from EGS resources of the western United States using models of...
Is sexual size dimorphism in walleye, Sander vitreus, a driver of seasonal movements in Lake Erie?
Christian J. Bihun, Matthew Faust, Richard Kraus, Thomas MacDougall, Jason Robinson, Christopher Vandergoot, Graham D. Raby
2025, Journal of Fish Biology (106) 430-441
Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a sexually dimorphic species in which females are larger than males in adulthood. Walleye can also exhibit sex- and population-based differences in migration behavior. In Lake Erie, we used acoustic telemetry to test the prediction that female walleye exhibit larger broad-scale movements than males during the...
Mammalian predator co‐occurrence affected by prey and habitat more than competitor presence at multiple time scales
Sarah B. Bassing, David Edward Ausband, Matthew A. Mumma, Sarah Thompson, Mark A. Hurley, Matthew Richard Falcy
2025, Ecological Monographs (95)
The behavior and abundance of sympatric predators can be affected by a complex dominance hierarchy. The strength of antagonistic interactions in predator communities is difficult to study and remains poorly understood for many predator assemblages. Predators directly and indirectly influence the broader ecosystem, so identifying the relative importance of competition,...
Artificial neural network multilayer perceptron models to classify California’s crops using Harmonized Landsat Sentinel (HLS) data
Richard L. McCormick, Prasad Thenkabail, Itiya Aneece, Pardhasaradhi Teluguntla, Adam Oliphant, Daniel Foley
2025, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (91) 91-100
Advances in remote sensing and machine learning are enhancing cropland classification, vital for global food and water security. We used multispectral Harmonized Landsat 8 Sentinel-2 (HLS) 30-m data in an artificial neural network (ANN) multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model to classify five crop classes (cotton, alfalfa, tree crops, grapes, and others)...
Integration of Indigenous Research Methodologies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and molecular scatology in an assessment of mesocarnivore presence, diet and habitat use on Yurok Ancestral Lands.
Seafha C. Ramos, Melanie Culver
2025, Molecular Ecology Resources (25)
Partnerships between Tribes and researchers in wildlife monitoring and application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) have taken a variety of forms, and some scholars have noted a need for culturally sensitive approaches. Guided by Indigenous Research Methodologies, this research is coupled with Yurok TEK, or hlkelonah 'ue-megetohl ('to take care...
Direct and legacy effects of varying cool-season precipitation totals on ecosystem carbon flux in a semi-arid mixed grassland
Fangyue Zhang, Joel A. Biederman, Nathan A. Pierce, Daniel L. Potts, Sasha C. Reed, William K. Smith
2025, Plant, Cell & Environment (48) 943-952
In the semi-arid grasslands of the southwest United States, annual precipitation is divided between warm-season (July–September) convective precipitation and cool-season (December–March) frontal storms. While evidence suggests shifts in precipitation seasonal distribution, there is a poor understanding of the ecosystem carbon flux responses to cool-season precipitation and the potential legacy effects...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Barry D. Parkin, Betty R. Euliss
2025, Professional Paper 1842-BB
Keys to Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) management include providing shrub-dominated edge habitat adjacent to grasslands or grasslands with a shrub component (both of which must include dense grass and moderately high litter cover) and avoiding disturbances that eliminate woody vegetation. Field Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 16–134...
Reproductive parameters in invasive blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Delaware, 2020–22
Heather L. Walsh, Christine L. Densmore, Amy M. Regish, Jessica L. Norstog, Johnny Moore, Branson Williams, Noah Bressman, Zachary Crum
2025, Open-File Report 2024-1074
Over the past few decades, Ictalurus furcatus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1840; blue catfish) have become a formidable invasive species in tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Delaware. Knowledge of their reproductive behaviors can support managers in the determination of ideal timing and implementation of mitigation...
2022 Volcanic activity in Alaska and the Northern Mariana Islands—Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Tim R. Orr, Hannah R. Dietterich, Ronni Grapenthin, Matthew M. Haney, Matthew W. Loewen, Pablo Saunders-Shultz, Darren Tan, Christopher F. Waythomas, Aaron G. Wech
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5108
In 2022, the Alaska Volcano Observatory responded to eruptions, volcanic unrest or suspected unrest, increased seismicity, and other significant activity at 11 volcanic centers in Alaska and in the Northern Mariana Islands. Eruptive activity in Alaska consisted of repeated small, ash-producing, phreatomagmatic explosions from Mount Young on Semisopochnoi Island; the...
Exosomal micro RNA isolation in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for diagnostic biomarker discovery
Maite De Maria, Lillian G. Maxwell, Margaret Hunter, Jason Ferrante
2025, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (61) 212-218
Molecular approaches are becoming more prevalent for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases in human medicine and can be extended to diagnosis of wildlife diseases such as chronic wasting disease and other prion diseases. These diseases have been associated with exosome-bound molecular biomarkers of disease progression, such as proteins and micro...
National seed strategy for rehabilitation and restoration progress report 2022 & 2023: Handout
Laura Cecilia Shriver, Claudia Mengelt
2025, Report
Restoring healthy, resilient, biodiverse ecosystems is crucial for our Nation’s future. Native plant communities provide essential environmental benefits, such as buffering against extreme weather, improving air, soil, and water quality, and habitat for wildlife. However, the limited availability of locally adapted native plants hampers effective ecological restoration. To address this...
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2023 Annual report
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1001
Executive SummaryThe purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of the distribution, abundance, and breeding activity of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the flycatcher were completed on Base...
Catastrophic lava flow levee failure: Precursors, processes, and implications
Elisabeth Gallant, Hannah R. Dietterich, Matthew R. Patrick, David Matthew Hyman, Brett B Carr, John J. Lyons, Elinor S. Meredith
2025, Volcanica (8) 67-80
During an effusive eruption crisis the initial advance of a lava flow is typically the primary focus of model forecasts and hazard management efforts. Flow branching and lateral expansion of lava flows can pose significant dangers within evolving flow fields throughout the duration of an eruption and are an underappreciated...
Mineral commodity summaries 2025
U.S. Geological Survey
2025, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025
Introduction Each mineral commodity chapter of the 2025 edition of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Summaries (MCS) includes information on events, trends, and issues for each mineral commodity as well as discussions and tabular presentations on domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, 5-year salient statistics, and world production, reserves,...
Climate change impacts and adaptation in U.S. Rocky Mountain high-elevation ecosystems
Meagan Ford Oldfather, Alyson Ennis, Brian W. Miller, Kyra Clark-Wolf, Imtiaz Rangwala, Hailey Robe, Caitlin Littlefield
2025, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (57)
From a resource management perspective, climate change is considered to be one of the main threats to high-elevation ecosystems. However, these valuable ecosystems present unique challenges to climate change adaptation (actions in response to environmental change and its effects in a way that seeks to reduce harm) due to their...
Prion gene sequencing in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) suggests no differential susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
Elizabeth Sharkey, David P. Onorato, Melody E. Roelke-Parker, Alexander Ochoa, Melanie Culver, Robert R. Fitak
2025, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (61) 262-266
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, or prion disease, poses a serious threat to wildlife; however, the susceptibility of apex predators is still being assessed. We investigated variation in the prion protein gene in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) and found that admixture from Central American pumas probably introduced a novel, albeit benign,...
Abundance of microplastics in a typical urban wetland in China: Association with occurrence and carbon storage
Haowen Zhang, Mengjie Pu, Ming Zheng, Bentuo Xu, Jason Tyler Magnuson, Qiqing Chen, Xiangrong Xu, Xiangyong Zheng, Ming Zhao, Wenhui Qiu
2025, Journal of Hazardous Materials (488)
Microplastics (MPs) are gaining attention for their widespread presence and toxicity in ecosystems. However, their role as a carbon source in urban wetland carbon sinks is still unclear. In this study, the microplastic-carbon (MP-C) was firstly quantified based on the abundance and occurrence characteristics, including MP morphology, size and type...
Refined mapping of subsurface water ice on Mars to support future missions
Gareth A Morgan, Nathaniel E Putzig, David M H Baker, Asmin E. Pathare, Colin M. Dundas, Megan Russell, Matthew R Perry, Matthew Chojnacki, Hanna G Sizemore, Ali M Bramson, Eric I Petersen, Stefano Nerozzi, Rachel H Hoover, Zachary M Bain
2025, The Planetary Science Journal (6)
Mars has an extensive yet poorly understood cryosphere. Nevertheless, both direct and indirect evidence indicates extensive buried ice across the midlatitudes, including locations where it is presently unstable. While much progress has been made in exploring the processes responsible for ice deposition and preservation during recent climatic fluctuations, a global...
Myiasis infection by the toad fly (Lucilia bufonivora; Calliphoidae) in amphibians in Montana, USA
Leah M. Fischer, Blake R. Hossack
2025, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (61) 206-2011
Toad flies in the genus Lucilia (previously referred to as Bufolucilia spp.) parasitize and cause myiasis in several amphibian species in North America. From 2019 to 2022, we documented Lucilia bufonivora infections in post-metamorphic western toads (Anaxyrus boreas) during amphibian surveys in four wetlands in Glacier National Park, Montana, US. We found nine infected adult toads in...
Quantifying the effect of petrogenic carbon on SOC turnover for two Rocky Mountain soils: When are petrogenic carbon corrections required?
Elizabeth Kellisha Williams, Corey Lawrence
2025, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (130)
Petrogenic organic carbon (OCpetro), derived from sedimentary rocks, is an often overlooked and poorly quantified source of soil organic carbon (SOC), which may influence measured or modeled SOC composition, age, and stability. In this study, we exploited differences in thermochemical stability between OCpetro and biogenic SOC (OCbio) using stepped elemental analysis...
Using machine learning in Minnesota’s StreamStats to predict fluvial sediment
Joel T. Groten, J. William Lund, Erin N. Coenen, Andrea Medenblik, Harper N. Wavra, Mike Kennedy, Gregory D. Johnson
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3005
A thorough understanding of fluvial sediment transport is essential for addressing key environmental issues such as aquatic habitat degradation, flooding, excess nutrients, and challenges with river restoration. Fluvial sediment samples are valuable for addressing these concerns, but their collection is often impractical across all rivers and timeframes of interest. In...
Proceedings of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Wildlife Health Workshop—Collaborating against shared threats
2025, Open-File Report 2024-1081
Emerging diseases of wildlife origin are increasingly transboundary (they spread rapidly across geographic regions and across continents). In recent years, examples include the rapid spread of African swine fever across Europe and Asia with negative effects on food security, and the near global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza which...
Shoreline seasonality of California’s beaches
Jonathan A. Warrick, Daniel D. Buscombe, Kilian Vos, Hannah Kenyon, Andrew C. Ritchie, Mitchell D. Harley, Catherine N. Janda, Jess L'Heureux, Sean Vitousek
2025, JGR Earth Surface (130)
We report on remote sensing techniques developed to characterize seasonal shoreline cycles from satellite-derived shoreline measurements. These techniques are applied to 22-yr of shoreline measurements for over 777 km of beach along California's 1,700-km coast, for which the general understanding is that shorelines exhibit winter-narrow and summer-recovery seasonality. We find that...
Detection of the Diadema antillarum scuticociliatosis Philaster clade on sympatric metazoa, plankton, and abiotic surfaces and assessment for its potential reemergence
Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas, Katherine Philipp, Ashley Altera, Amy Apprill, Cynthia C. Becker, Donald Behringer, Marilyn E. Brandt, Mya Breitbart, Kayla A. Budd, Christopher M. DeRito, Elizabeth Duermit-Moreau, James S. Evans, Maria Hopson-Fernandes, Julian Fleischer, Samuel Gittens, Michael Henson, Alwin Hylkema, Christina A. Kellogg, Andrew Maritan, Julie L. Meyer, Zoe A. Pratte, Isabella T. Ritchie, Moriah L. B. Sevier, Matthew Souza, Frank J. Stewart, Sietske Van Der Wal, Sarah VonHoehne, Ian Hewson
2025, Marine Ecology Progress Series (753) 19-35
A ciliate belonging to the Diadema antillarum scuticociliatosis (DaSc)-associated Philaster clade (DaScPc) caused catastrophic long-spined urchin mass mortality in spring and summer of 2022. The ciliate can be grown in culture in both the presence and absence of D. antillarum tissues, suggesting that it may persist outside its host by...
