Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system in the St. Louis River basin, Minnesota
Megan J. Haserodt, Randall J. Hunt, Timothy K. Cowdery, Andrew T. Leaf, Anna C. Baker
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5033
The St. Louis River Basin (SLRB) covers 3,600 square miles in northeastern Minnesota, with headwaters in the Mesabi Range and extensive wetlands and lakes throughout the basin. To better understand the regional groundwater system in the SLRB, a two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model of the SLRB was developed by the U.S....
Spatially explicit network analysis reveals multi-species annual cycle movement patterns of sea ducks
Juliet S. Lamb, Peter WC Paton, Jason E. Osenkowski, Shannon S. Badzinski, Alicia Berlin, Timothy D. Bowman, Chris Dwyer, Luke Fara, Scott G. Gilliland, Kevin P. Kenow, Christine Lepage, Mark L. Mallory, Glenn Olsen, Matthew Perry, Scott A. Petrie, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Lucas Savoy, Michael L. Schummer, Caleb S. Spiegel, Scott R. McWilliams
2019, Ecological Applications (29)
Conservation of long-distance migratory species poses unique challenges. Migratory connectivity—that is, the extent to which groupings of individuals at breeding sites are maintained in wintering areas—is frequently used to evaluate population structure and assess use of key habitat areas. However, for species with complex or variable annual-cycle movements, this traditional...
Return flows from beaver ponds enhance floodplain-to-river metals exchange in alluvial mountain catchments
Martin Briggs, Cheng-Hui Wang, Frederick Day-Lewis, Kenneth H. Williams, Wenming Dong, John Lane
2019, Science of the Total Environment (685) 357-369
River to floodplain hydrologic connectivity is strongly enhanced by beaver- (Castor canadensis) engineered channel water diversions. The hydroecological impacts are wide ranging and generally positive, however, the hydrogeochemical characteristics of beaver-induced flowpaths have not been thoroughly examined. Using a suite of complementary ground- and drone-based heat tracing and remote sensing...
Protected areas lacking for many common fluvial fishes of the conterminous USA
Arthur R. Cooper, Yin-Phang Tsang, Dana M. Infante, Wesley M. Daniel, Alexa McKerrow, Daniel J. Wieferich
2019, Diversity and Distributions (25) 1289-1303
AimTo assess the effectiveness of protected areas in two catchment scales (local and network) in conserving regionally common fluvial fishes using modelled species distributions.LocationConterminous United States.MethodsA total of 150 species were selected that were geographically widespread, abundant, non‐habitat specialists and native...
Mortality of Tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) and other alcids during an unusual mortality event in the eastern Bering Sea
Timothy Jones, Laura M. Divine, Heather Renner, Susan Knowles, Kathi A. Lefebvre, Hillary K. Burgess, Charlie Wright, Julia K. Parrish
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Mass mortality events are increasing in frequency and magnitude, potentially linked with ongoing climate change. In October 2016 through January 2017, St. Paul Island situated at the shelf-edge of the Bering Sea, Alaska, experienced a mortality event of alcids (family: Alcidae), with over 350 carcasses recovered. Almost three-quarters of the...
Survival cost to relocation does not reduce population self‐sustainability in an amphibian
Hugo Cayuela, Lilly Gillet, Arnaud Laudelout, Aurelien Besnard, Eric Bonnaire, Pauline Levionnois, Erin L. Muths, Marc Dufrene, Thierry Kinet
2019, Ecological Applications (29)
Relocations are increasingly popular among wildlife managers despite often low rates of relocation success in vertebrates. In this context, understanding the influence of extrinsic (e.g., relocation design, habitat characteristics) and intrinsic factors (e.g., age and sex) on demographic parameters, such as survival, that regulate the dynamics of relocated populations is...
Groundwater quality in shallow aquifers in the western Mojave Desert, California
Krishangi D. Groover, Dara A. Goldrath
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3033
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access...
Bunchgrass root abundances and their relationship to resistance and resilience of a burned shrub-steppe landscape
Matthew J. Germino, Matthew Fisk, Cara Applestein
2019, Rangeland Ecology and Management (72) 782-790
Invasion of exotic annual grasses (EAG) and increased wildfire have motivated an emphasis on managing rangeland plant communities for resistance to invasion and resilience to disturbances. These traits are provided primarily by perennial bunchgrasses in rangelands such as shrub steppe, and specifically but also hypothetically, the abundances and functioning...
Growing pains of crowdsourced stream stage monitoring using mobile phones: The development of CrowdHydrology
Christopher Lowry, Michael N. Fienen, Damon M. Hall, Kristine Stepenuck
2019, Frontiers in Earth Science (7)
Citizen science-based approaches to monitor the natural environment tend to be bimodal in maturity. Older and established programs such as the Audubon’s Christmas bird count and Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) have thousands of participants across decades of observations, while less mature citizen science projects have shorter...
Explosive summit collapse of Kīlauea Volcano in 1924 preceded by a decade of crustal contamination and anomalous Pb isotope ratios
Aaron Pietruszka, Daniel E. Heaton, Michael O Garcia, Jared P. Marske
2019, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (258) 120-137
A geochemical time-series analysis of lavas from frequently active basaltic volcanoes has the potential to reveal the enigmatic mantle controls on volcanic behavior and hazards. In May 1924, the century-long lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater at the summit of Kīlauea...
Conservation genomics in the sagebrush sea: Population divergence, demographic history, and local adaptation in sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.)
Kevin P Oh, Cameron L. Aldridge, Jennifer S. Forbey, Carolyn Dadabay, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2019, Genome Biology and Evolution (11) 2023-2034
Sage-grouse are two closely related iconic species of the North American West, with historically broad distributions across sagebrush-steppe habitat. Both species are dietary specialists on sagebrush during winter, with presumed adaptations to tolerate the high concentrations of toxic secondary metabolites that function as plant chemical defenses. Marked range contraction and...
Evidence for frequent, large tsunamis spanning locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust
Robert C. Witter, Richard W. Briggs, Simon E. Engelhart, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Richard D Koehler, Alan R. Nelson, SeanPaul La Selle, Reide Corbett, Kristi L. Wallace
2019, Geological Society of America Bulletin (131) 707-729
At the eastern end of the 1957 Andreanof Islands magnitude-8.6 earthquake rupture, Driftwood Bay (Umnak Island) and Stardust Bay (Sedanka Island) lie along presently locked and creeping parts of the Aleutian megathrust, respectively, based on satellite geodesy onshore. Both bays, located 200-km apart, face the Aleutian trench and harbor coastal...
Ross Ice Shelf response to climate driven by the tectonic imprint on seafloor bathymetry
K J Tinto, L Padman, C S Siddoway, M.R. Springer, H.A. Fricker, I. Das, F. Caratori Tontini, D.F. Porter, N.P. Frearson, S. J. Howard, M.R. Siegfried, C. Mosbeux, M.K. Becker, C. Bertinato, A. Boghosian, N. Brady, Bethany L. Burton, W. Chu, S.I. Cordero, T. Dhakal, L. Dong, C.D. Gustafson, S. Keeshin, C. Locke, A. Lockett, G. O'Brien, J.J. Spergel, S.E. Starke, M. Tankersley, M. Wearing, R. E. Bell
2019, Nature Geoscience (12) 441-449
Ocean melting has thinned Antarctica's ice shelves at an increasing rate over the past two decades, leading to loss of grounded ice. The Ross Ice Shelf is currently close to steady state but geological records indicate that it can disintegrate rapidly, which would accelerate grounded ice loss from catchments...
Application of a towed time-domain electromagnetic (tTEM) imaging system in Jamestown, North Dakota
Carole D. Johnson, Joshua Valder, Eric A. White, Pradip Kumar Maurya, David Hisz, John W. Lane Jr.
2019, Conference Paper, Symposium on the application of geophysics to engineering and environmental problems proceedings
Time-Domain Electromagnetic (EM) methods have been used for decades in support of groundwater investigations. A new towed Time-Domain EM system called “tTEM”, designed by Aarhus University, is being tested and evaluated under a collaborative research agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The tTEM system is rapid and efficient, providing...
Negative frequency-dependent foraging behaviour in a generalist herbivore (Alces alces) and its stabilizing influence on food-web dynamics
Sarah R. Hoy, John A. Vucetich, Rongsong Liu, Don DeAngelis, Rolf O. Peterson, Leah M. Vucetich, John J. Henderson
2019, Journal of Applied Ecology (88) 1291-1304
1. Resource selection is widely appreciated to be context‐dependent and shaped by both biological and abiotic factors. However, few studies have empirically assessed the extent to which selective foraging behaviour is dynamic and varies in response to environmental conditions for free‐ranging animal populations. 2. Here, we assessed the extent that forage...
Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers in Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis (Procellariformes), and cross-species amplification in eight other seabirds
Megan C. Gravley, George K. Sage, Andrew M. Ramey, Scott A. Hatch, Verena A. Gill, Jolene R. Rearick, Aevar Petersen, Sandra L. Talbot
2019, Genes and Genomics (41) 1015-1026
BackgroundIn the North Pacific, northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) forms extensive colonies in few locales, which may lead to limited gene flow and locale-specific population threats. In the Atlantic, there are thousands of colonies of varying sizes and in Europe the species is considered...
Use of a towed electromagnetic induction (tTem) system for shallow aquifer characterization – An example from the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Eric A. White, Carole D. Johnson, Pradip Kumar Maurya, Wade Kress, David B. Kelly, John W. Lane
2019, Conference Paper, Symposium on the application of geophysics to engineering and environmental problems proceedings
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) aquifer system is a vital resource that supports agriculture in one of the most productive regions of the country. The U.S. Geological Survey Water Availability and Use Science Program (WAUSP) is conducting a multi-discipline investigation of the MAP aquifer system. The investigation is utilizing borehole,...
Evidence for a role of arginine vasotocin (AVT) receptors in the gill during salinity acclimation by a euryhaline teleost fish
Sean C. Lema, Elise H Washburn, Mary E Crowley, Paul G Carvalho, Jennifer N Egelston, Stephen D. McCormick
2019, American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (316) R735-R750
The neurohypophysial nonapeptide arginine vasotocin (AVT) plays a role in regulation of osmotic balance in teleost fishes, but its mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Recently, is was discovered that nonapeptide receptors differentiated into V1a-type, several V2-type, and two isotocin (IT) receptor paralogs in teleost fishes, and it remains...
Estimation of ground motion variability in the CEUS using simulations
Xiaodan Sun, Sanaz Rezaeian, Brandon Clayton, Stephen H. Hartzell
Stephen H. Hartzell, editor(s)
2019, Conference Paper, ICASP 13 Proceedings
We estimate earthquake ground-motion variability in the central and eastern U.S. (CEUS) by varying the model parameters of a deterministic physics-based and a stochastic site-based simulation method. Utilizing a moderate-magnitude database of recordings, we simulate ground motions for larger-magnitude scenarios M6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.0. For the physics-based method,...
Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis using stochastic simulated ground motions
Sarah Azar, Mayssa Dabaghi, Sanaz Rezaeian
2019, Conference Paper, Proceedings of ICASP13
: In recent years, ground motion models used in probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHA) have evolved from the traditional approach of using ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) to using ground motion time series models. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach to perform a probabilistic seismic hazard...
A three-pipe problem: Dealing with complexity to halt amphibian declines
Sarah J. Converse, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2019, Biological Conservation (236) 107-114
Natural resource managers are increasingly faced with threats to managed ecosystems that are largely outside of their control. Examples include land development, climate change, invasive species, and emerging infectious diseases. All of these are characterized by large uncertainties in timing, magnitude,...
Mismatches between breeding phenology and resource abundance of resident alpine ptarmigan negatively affect chick survival
Gregory T Wann, Cameron L. Aldridge, Amy E. Seglund, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Boris C. Kondratieff, Clait E. Braun
2019, Ecology and Evolution (9) 7200-7212
1. Phenological mismatches – defined here as the difference in reproductive timing of an individual relative to the availability of its food resources – occur in many avian species. Mistiming breeding activities in environments with constrained breeding windows may have severe fitness costs due to reduced opportunities for repeated breeding...
Implications of seismic design values for economic losses
Dustin Cook, Abbie B. Liel, Nico Luco, Edward Almeter, Curt B. Haselton
2019, Conference Paper
In the U.S., seismic design values are determined mostly through a risk-targeting process, which combines information about the expected collapse fragility of code-designed structures with seismic hazard at a site. However, this target only applies where the risk-targeted ground motions govern the design. In other areas, primarily close to active...
Characterizing groundwater/surface-water interaction using hydrograph-separation techniques and groundwater-level data throughout the Mississippi Delta, USA
Courtney D. Killian, William H. Asquith, Jeannie R. B. Barlow, Gardner C. Bent, Wade Kress, Paul M. Barlow, Darrel W. Schmitz
2019, Hydrogeology Journal (27) 2167-2179
The Mississippi Delta, located in northwest Mississippi, is an area dense with industrial-level agriculture sustained by groundwater-dependent irrigation supplied by the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial aquifer (alluvial aquifer). The Delta provides agricultural commodities across the United States and around the world. Observed declines in groundwater altitudes and streamflow contemporaneous with...
Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time
Michael J. Adams, Erin L. Muths
2019, Biological Conservation (236) 100-106
Successfully addressing complex conservation problems requires attention to pattern and process at multiple spatial scales. This is challenging from a logistical and organizational perspective. In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the United States Geological Survey was established in...
