Groundwater quality in the Floridan aquifer system, Southeastern United States
James A. Kingsbury
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3066
Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water (Burow and Belitz, 2014). The Floridan aquifer system constitutes one of the...
Genetic assessment of a bighorn sheep population expansion in the Silver Bell Mountains, Arizona
John A. Erwin, Karla Vargasc, Brian R. Blaisc, Kendell Bennettc, Julia Muldoond, Sarah Findysz, Courtney Christiec, James R. Heffelfingere, Melanie Culver
2018, PeerJ (6)
Background: The isolated population of desert bighorn sheep in the Silver Bell Mountains of southern Arizona underwent an unprecedented expansion in merely four years. We hypothesized that immigration from neighboring bighorn sheep populations could have caused the increase in numbers as detected by Arizona Game and Fish...
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
Matthew D. Merrill, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Philip A. Freeman, Jinxun Liu, Peter D. Warwick, Bradley C. Reed
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5131
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In...
Migratory coupling between predators and prey
Nathan B. Furey, Jonathan B. Armstrong, David A. Beauchamp, Scott G. Hinch
2018, Nature Ecology & Evolution (2) 1846-1853
Animal migrations act to couple ecosystems and are undertaken by some of the world’s most endangered taxa. Predators often exploit migrant prey, but the movements taken by these consumers are rarely studied or understood. We define such movements, where migrant prey induce large-scale movements of predators, as migratory coupling. Migratory...
Disparate perspectives on evidence from the Cerutti Mastodon site: A reply to Braje et al.
Steven R. Holen, Thomas A. Demere, Daniel C. Fisher, Richard Fullagar, James B. Paces, George T. Jefferson, Jared M. Beeton, Adam N. Rountrey, Kathleen A. Holen
2018, PaleoAmerica (4) 12-15
The Perspective editorial by Braje, T., T. D. Dillehay, J. M. Erlandson, S. M. Fitzpatrick, D. K. Grayson, V. T. Holliday, R. L. Kelly, R. G. Klein, D. J. Meltzer, and T. C. Rick (2017. “Were Hominins in California ∼130,000 Years Ago?” PaleoAmerica 3 (3): 200–202) takes issue with our argument [Holen,...
Groundwater chemistry and water-level elevations in bedrock aquifers of the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds, Rio Blanco County, Colorado, 2013–16
Judith C. Thomas, Peter B. McMahon
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5142
The Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, are known to contain important energy resources (oil shale and natural gas) and mineral resources (nahcolite). The primary sources of fresh groundwater in the Piceance and Yellow Creek watersheds are bedrock aquifers in the Uinta and Green River Formations....
Reconnaissance of mixed organic and inorganic chemicals in private and public supply tapwaters at selected residential and workplace sites in the United States
Paul M. Bradley, Dana W. Kolpin, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Juliane B. Brown, Mary C. Cardon, Kurt D. Carpenter, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Julie E. Dietze, Nicola Evans, Edward T. Furlong, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, Dale W. Griffin, Christopher P. Higgins, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Celeste A. Journey, Kathryn Kuivila, Jason R. Masoner, Carrie A. McDonough, Michael T. Meyer, James L. Orlando, Mark J. Strynar, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 13972-13985
Safe drinking water at the point-of-use (tapwater, TW) is a United States public health priority. Multiple lines of evidence were used to evaluate potential human health concerns of 482 organics and 19 inorganics in TW from 13 (7 public supply, 6 private well self-supply) home and 12 (public supply) workplace...
Chesapeake Bay dissolved oxygen criterion attainment deficit: Three decades of temporal and spatial patterns
Qian Zhang, Peter J. Tango, Rebecca R. Murphy, Melinda K. Forsyth, Richard Tian, Jennifer L. Keisman, Emily M. Trentacoste
2018, Frontiers in Marine Science (5)
Low dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions are a recurring issue in waters of Chesapeake Bay, with detrimental effects on aquatic living resources. The Chesapeake Bay Program partnership has developed criteria guidance supporting the definition of state water quality standards and associated assessment procedures for DO and other parameters, which...
A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost
Samuel G. Roy, Emi Uchida, Simone P. de Souza, Ben Blachly, Emma Fox, Kevin Gardner, Arthur J. Gold, Jessica Jansujwicz, Sharon Klein, Bridie McGreavy, Weiwei Mo, Sean Smith, Emily Vogler, Karen Wilson, Joseph D. Zydlewski, David Hart
2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (115) 12069-12074
Aging infrastructure and growing interests in river restoration have led to a substantial rise in dam removals in the U.S. However, the decision to remove a dam involves many complex trade-offs. The benefits of dam removal for hazard reduction and ecological restoration are potentially offset by the loss of hydroelectricity...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Long Strait Basin Province, 2008
Kenneth Bird, David W. Houseknecht, Janet K. Pitman
Thomas E. Moore, Donald L. Gautier, editor(s)
2018, Professional Paper 1824-AA
The Long Strait Basin is both a stand alone petroleum province and an assessment unit (AU) that lies offshore in the East Siberian Sea north of Chukotka and south of Wrangel Island. This basin is known only on the basis of gravity data and a single proprietary seismic line. In...
Water temperature in tributaries, off-channel features, and main channel of the lower Willamette River, northwestern Oregon, summers 2016 and 2017
Joseph F. Mangano, David R. Piatt, Krista L. Jones, Stewart A. Rounds
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1184
The U.S. Geological Survey collected continuous water-temperature data in select tributaries of the lowermost 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, during summers 2016 and 2017. Point measurements of water temperature and water quality (dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and pH) also were collected at multiple...
Status of tidal marsh mapping for blue carbon inventories
Kristin B. Byrd, Chris Mcowen, Lauren Weatherdon, James Holmquist, Stephen Crooks
2018, Book chapter, A blue carbon primer: The state of coastal wetland carbon science, practice and policy
Remote-sensing-based maps of tidal marshes, both of their extents and carbon stocks, will play a key role in conducting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories.The U.N. Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre has produced a new Global Distribution of Salt Marsh dataset that estimates global salt marsh area at 5.5 Mha.A Tier...
The Pothole Hydrology-Linked Systems Simulator (PHyLiSS)—Development and application of a systems model for prairie-pothole wetlands
Owen P. McKenna, David M. Mushet, Eric J. Scherff, Kyle McLean, Christopher T. Mills
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1165
The North American Prairie Pothole Region covers about 770,000 square kilometers of the United States and Canada (including parts of 5 States and 3 provinces: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta). The Laurentide Ice Sheet shaped the landscape of the region about 12,000 to 14,000...
Quantitative acoustic differentiation of cryptic species illustrated with King and Clapper rails
Lydia L. Stiffler, Katie M. Schroeder, James T. Anderson, Susan B. McRae, Todd E. Katzner
2018, Ecology and Evolution (8) 12821-12831
Reliable species identification is vital for survey and monitoring programs. Recently, the development of digital technology for recording and analyzing vocalizations has assisted in acoustic surveying for cryptic, rare, or elusive species. However, the quantitative tools that exist for species differentiation are still being refined. Using vocalizations recorded in the...
Insect communities in big sagebrush habitat are altered by wildfire and post‐fire restoration seeding
Ashley T. Rohde, David S. Pilliod, Stephen J. Novak
2018, Insect Conservation and Diversity (12) 216-230
Natural resource managers sow grass, forb, and shrub seeds across millions of hectares of public lands in the western United States to restore sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems burned by wildfire. The effects of post‐fire vegetation treatments on insect communities in these ecosystems have not been investigated.We conducted the first investigation of...
The effects of tropical cyclone-generated deposition on the sustainability of the Pearl River marsh, Louisiana: The importance of the geologic framework
Terrence A. McCloskey, Christopher G. Smith, Kam-Biu Liu, Paul R. Nelson
2018, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (6)
Shoreline retreat is a tremendously important issue along the coast of the northern Gulf of Mexico, especially in Louisiana. Although this marine transgression results from a variety of causes, the crucial factor is the difference between marsh surface elevation and rising sea levels. In most cases, the primary cause of...
Structural evolution of a gold-bearing transtensional zone within the Archean Porcupine-Destor deformation zone, southern Abitibi greenstone belt, eastern Ontario, Canada
Miguel T. Nassif, Yvette D. Kuiper, Richard J. Goldfarb, Thomas Monecke, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
2018, Journal of Structural Geology (117) 203-218
The Garrison camp comprises four structurally distinct orogenic gold deposits that formed in different host lithologies during progressive deformation. Detailed field mapping, drill core logging, and geochronological constraints suggest that the 2678 ± 2 Ma Garrison granitic stock played a fundamental rheological role in the location of the four deposits. Initial local shear movement occurred along...
Energy-rich mesopelagic fishes revealed as a critical prey resource for a deep-diving predator using quantitative fatty acid signature analysis
Chandra Goetsch, Melinda G. Conners, Suzanne M. Budge, Yoko Mitani, William A Walker, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Samantha E. Simmons, Colleen Reichmuth, Daniel P. Costa
2018, Frontiers in Marine Science (5) 1-19
Understanding the diet of deep-diving predators can provide essential insight to the trophic structure of the mesopelagic ecosystem. Comprehensive population-level diet estimates are exceptionally difficult to obtain for elusive marine predators due to the logistical challenges involved in observing their feeding behavior and collecting samples for traditional stomach content or...
Population genomic surveys for six rare plant species in San Diego County, California
Elizabeth R. Milano, Amy G. Vandergast
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1175
San Diego County is a hotspot of biodiversity, situated at the intersection of the Baja peninsula, the California floristic province, and the desert southwest. This hotspot is characterized by a high number of rare and endemic species, which persist alongside a major urban epicenter. San Diego County has implemented a...
Provenance of invaders has scale-dependent impacts in a changing wetland ecosystem
Kathryn L. Amatangelo, Lee Stevens, Douglas A. Wilcox, Stephen Jackson, Dov F. Sax
2018, NeoBiota (40) 51-72
Exotic species are associated with a variety of impacts on biodiversity, but it is unclear whether impacts of exotic species differ from those of native species with similar growth forms or native species invading disturbed sites. We compared presence and abundance of native and exotic invaders with changes...
Revisiting earthquakes in the Los Angeles, California, basin during the early instrumental period: Evidence for an association with oil production
Susan E. Hough, Roger Bilham
2018, JGR Solid Earth (123) 10684-10705
A total of seven independent ML ≥ 4.0 earthquakes occurred in the Los Angeles, California, basin, during the early instrumental period between 1932 and 1952, the largest of which was the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Revising available macroseismic and instrumental data for a total of 6 4.0 ≤ ML ≤ 5.1 events between 1938 and 1944, we...
Landscape topoedaphic features create refugia from drought and insect disturbance in a lodgepole and whitebark pine forest
Jennifer M. Cartwright
2018, Forests (9) 1-35
Droughts and insect outbreaks are primary disturbance processes linking climate change to tree mortality in western North America. Refugia from these disturbances—locations where impacts are less severe relative to the surrounding landscape—may be priorities for conservation, restoration, and monitoring. In this study, hypotheses concerning physical and biological processes supporting refugia...
Factors affecting disaster preparedness, response, and recovery using the community capitals framework
Amber Himes-Cornell, Carlos Ormond, Kristin R Hoelting, Natalie C. Ban, J. Zachary Koehn, Edward H. Allison, Eric R. Larson, Daniel Monson, Henry P. Huntington, Tom Okey
2018, Coastal Management (46) 335-358
Disaster research often focuses on how and why communities are affected by a discrete extreme event. We used the community capitals framework to understand how community characteristics influence their preparedness, response to, and recovery from successive or multiple disasters using the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and the...
Commercial fisheries of the Upper Mississippi River: A model of sustainability
Zachary B. Klein, Michael Quist, Leandro E. Miranda, Michelle M. Marron, Michael J. Steuck, Kirk A. Hansen
2018, Fisheries (43) 563-574
Commercial harvest is often considered as a primary cause of fish population declines in marine and inland systems throughout the world. However, much of the data supporting the negative attributes of commercial harvest are derived from marine fisheries and may not be directly applicable to inland fisheries. In this study,...
Relating cyanobacteria and physicochemical water-quality properties in Willow Creek Lake, Nebraska, 2012–14
David L. Rus, Brent M. Hall, Steven A. Thomas
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5121
Cyanobacteria (also referred to as blue-green algae) are naturally present members of phytoplankton assemblages that may detract from beneficial uses of water because some strains produce cyanotoxins that pose health hazards to people and animals. Cyanobacteria populations observed in Willow Creek Lake during 2012 through 2014 were compared to external...
