Findings and lessons learned from the assessment of the Mexico-United States transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers: The utility of social science in applied hydrologic research
James B. Callegary, Sharon B. Megdal, Elia Maria Tapia Villasenor, Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, Ismael Minjarez Sosa, R. Monreal, F. Gray, Francisco Grijalva Noriega
2018, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (20) 60-73
Study RegionThis study region encompasses the Transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers which are shared between the states of Sonora (Mexico) and Arizona (US). Special regional considerations include a semi-arid climate, basin-fill aquifers with predominantly montane recharge areas, economic drivers in the mining, trade, and military...
Distribution, habitat, and population size of Island Night Lizards on San Nicolas Island, California
Charles A. Drost, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas R. Murphey, Patrick M. Kleeman, Brian J. Halstead, Ryan P. O'Donnell
2018, Western North American Naturalist (78) 358-369
The Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana) was removed from the federal list of threatened species in May 2014. This strongly differentiated species is endemic to 3 of the southern California Channel Islands—San Clemente, San Nicolas, and Santa Barbara. Suitable habitat for Island Night Lizards is extensive on San Clemente Island,...
Comparison of estimators for monitoring long-term population trends in deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, on the California Channel Islands
Catherin A. Schwemm, Charles A. Drost, John L. Orrock, Timothy J. Coonan, Thomas R. Stanley
2018, Western North American Naturalist (78) 496-509
Capture-recapture methods are commonly used to estimate abundance and density of wild animal populations. Although a variety of sophisticated analytical techniques are available to evaluate capture-recapture data, vertebrate monitoring programs often lack the resources (e.g., time, personnel, and/or analytical expertise) to apply these methods. As an alternative, simple population indices,...
Sediment infilling benefits rainbow trout passage in a baffled channel
Jason Duguay, Brendan Foster, R.W. Jay Lacey, Theodore R. Castro-Santos
2018, Ecological Engineering (125) 38-49
Fish are thought to exploit low velocity recirculation zones in the wakes of baffles to take refuge from challenging hydraulic conditions in baffled culverts. Here, we investigate how sediment deposition in the wakes of baffles affects passage and behaviors of juvenile rainbow trout in a baffled...
Endangered species recovery: A resource allocation problem
Leah R. Gerber, Michael C. Runge, Richard F. Maloney, Gwenllian D. Iacona, C. Ashton Drew, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, James Brazill-Boast, Deborah T. Crouse, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Sarah B. Hall, Lynn A. Maguire, Tim Male, Don Morgan, Jeff Newman, Hugh P. Possingham, Libby Rumpff, Katherine C. B. Weiss, Robyn S. Wilson, Marilet A. Zablan
2018, Science (362) 284-286
Many nations have laws to identify and protect imperiled species and their ecosystems. In the United States, actions taken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have prevented many extinctions, but few listed species have recovered to the point where they can have the ESA protections removed (1, 2). One reason for...
The dilemma of pest suppression in the conservation of endangered species
Peter H. Adler, Jeb A. Barzen, Elmer Gray, Anne E Lacy, Richard P. Urbanek, Sarah J. Converse
Richard P. Urbanek, editor(s)
2018, Conservation Biology (33) 788-796
In the conservation of endangered species, active suppression of a population of one native species to benefit another native species poses particular challenges. Obvious examples include predator control and nest parasite reduction. Less obvious is the control of blood-feeding arthropods. We present a case study on the effect of blood-feeding...
Zooplankton dynamics in the Cache Slough complex of the upper San Francisco Estuary
Wim Kimmerer, Toni R. Ignoffo, Brooke Bemowski, Julien Moderan, Ann E. Holmes, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2018, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (16)
We studied abundance and dynamics of zooplankton in the tidal freshwater Cache Slough Complex (CSC) in the northern Delta of the San Francisco Estuary during June, July, and October 2015. We asked whether the CSC was an area of high zooplankton production that could act as a source region for...
Drought and fire in the western USA: Is climate attribution enough?
Jeremy Littell
2018, Current Climate Change Reports (4) 396-406
Purpose of ReviewI sought to review the contributions of recent literature and prior foundational papers to our understanding of drought and fire. In this review, I summarize recent literature on drought and fire in the western USA and discuss research directions that may increase the...
Distinguishing brackish lacustrine from brackish marine deposits in the stratigraphic record: A case study from the late Miocene and early Pliocene Bouse Formation, Arizona and California, USA
Jordon Bright, Andrew S. Cohen, Scott W. Starratt
2018, Earth-Science Reviews (185) 974-1003
Brackish marine and brackish continental environments are fundamentally different from a compositional perspective. Brackish water is often defined as having salinity lower than that of standard seawater but higher than that of freshwater, but less regard is given to the origin of the salts involved. The simple dilution of standard seawater by freshwater in...
Population differences in susceptibility to Plasmodium relictum in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata
Erik K. Hofmeister, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Carter T. Atkinson
2018, Avian Diseases (62) 351-355
Domesticated Australian and Timor zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis, and T. guttata guttata, respectively) were inoculated with canary (Serinus canaria) blood containing a Hawaiian isolate of Plasmodium relictum (lineage GRW04), a hemoparasite that causes avian malaria. In two experimental trials, Timor, but not Australian zebra finches developed parasitemia that was...
Reported investments in earthquake mitigation top $73 to $80 billion in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Thomas M. Brocher, Kerri Gefeke, John Boatwright, Keith L. Knudsen
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1168
The purpose of this report is to provide a compilation of structural retrofits and replacements of older buildings and infrastructure in the San Francisco Bay Area that have either been completed since 1989 or that are in progress as of October 2018. For the purposes of this report, all or parts...
Downscaling of climate model output for Alaskan stakeholders
John E. Walsh, Uma S. Bhatt, Jeremy Littell, Matthew Leonawicz, Michael Lindgren, Thomas A. Kurkowski, Peter A. Bieniek, Richard Thoman, Stephen Gray, T. Scott Rupp
2018, Environmental Modelling and Software (110) 38-51
The paper summarizes an end-to-end activity connecting the global climate modeling enterprise with users of climate information in Alaska. The effort included retrieval of the requisite observational datasets and model output, a model evaluation and selection procedure, the actual downscaling by the delta method with its inherent bias-adjustment, and the provision of products to...
Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines
Evan H. Campbell Grant, M. J. Adams, Robert N. Fisher, Daniel A. Grear, Brian J. Halstead, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Kelly L. Smalling, J. Hardin Waddle, Susan C. Walls, C. LeAnn White
2018, Global Ecology and Conservation (16) 1-9
A research priority can be defined as a knowledge gap that, if resolved, identifies the optimal course of conservation action. We (a group of geographically distributed and multidisciplinary research scientists) used tools from nominal group theory and decision analysis to collaboratively identify and prioritize information needs within the context of disease-associated amphibian decline, in order...
Low survey response! Can I still use the data?
Larry M. Gigliotti, Seth Fompa
2018, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (24) 71-79
Natural resource agencies often use mail surveys to collect stakeholder information. However, a major concern of mail surveys have long been relatively low response rates compared to telephone or face-to-face interviews. Survey research has largely focused on achieving high response rates; however, in some situations even well designed surveys can...
Mapping crop residue and tillage intensity using WorldView-3 satellite shortwave infrared residue indices
W. Dean Hively, Brian T. Lamb, Craig S. T. Daughtry, Jacob Shermeyer, Gregory W. McCarty, Miguel Quemada
2018, Remote Sensing (10) 1-22
Crop residues serve many important functions in agricultural conservation including preserving soil moisture, building soil organic carbon, and preventing erosion. Percent crop residue cover on a field surface reflects the outcome of tillage intensity and crop management practices. Previous studies using proximal hyperspectral remote sensing have demonstrated accurate measurement of...
Cryovolcanic rates on Ceres revealed by topography
M. M. Sori, H. G. Sizemore, S. Byrne, A. M. Bramson, Michael T. Bland, N. T. Stein, C. T. Russell
2018, Nature Astronomy (2) 946-950
Cryovolcanism, defined here as the extrusion of icy material from depth, may be an important planetary phenomenon in shaping the surfaces of many worlds in the outer Solar System and revealing their thermal histories<a id="ref-link-section-d13594e451" title="Kargel, J. S. Brine volcanism and the interior structures of asteroids and icy satellites. Icarus...
Growth and survival relationships of 71 tree species with nitrogen and sulfur deposition across the conterminous U.S.
Kevin J Horn, R. Quinn Thomas, Christopher M. Clark, Linda H Pardo, Mark E. Fenn, Gregory B. Lawrence, Steven Perakis, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Doug Baldwin, Sabine Braun, Annika Nordin, Charles H. Perry, Jennifer N Phelan, Paul G. Schaberg, Samuel B St Clair, Richard Warby, Shaun A. Watmough
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) influences forest demographics and carbon (C) uptake through multiple mechanisms that vary among tree species. Prior studies have estimated the effects of atmospheric N deposition on temperate forests by leveraging forest inventory measurements across regional gradients in deposition. However, in the United States...
Patterns in fish assemblage structure in a small western stream
Michael Quist, Zachary S. Beard, Ryan S. Hardy, Tyler J. Ross
2018, Copeia (106) 589-599
Knowledge of how patterns in fish assemblages are spatially structured is important for guiding management and conservation actions. However, most studies have taken place in the eastern and midwestern U.S., resulting in a poor understanding of factors influencing western stream fishes. The objectives of this...
Paleoseismic results from the Alpine site, Wasatch fault zone: Timing and displacement data for six holocene earthquakes at the Salt Lake City–Provo segment boundary
Scott E.K. Bennett, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Stephen Personius, Nadine G. Reitman, Joshua Devore, Adam Hiscock, Shannon A. Mahan, Harrison J. Gray, Sydney Gunnarson, William J. Stephenson, Elizabeth Pettinger, Jackson K. Odum
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 3202-3224
To improve the characterization of Holocene earthquakes on the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ), we conducted light detection and ranging (lidar)‐based neotectonic mapping and excavated a paleoseismic trench across an 8‐m‐high fault scarp near Alpine, Utah, located <1  km"><span...
Submerged aquatic vegetation mapping in coastal Louisiana through development of a spatial likelihood occurrence (SLOO) model
Kristin DeMarco, Brady Couvillion, Stuart Brown, Megan La Peyre
2018, Aquatic Botany (151) 87-97
Determining the spatial distribution of coastal foundation species is essential to accurately determine restoration goals, predict the ecological effects of climate change, and develop habitat management strategies. Mapping the distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) species assemblages, which provide important habitat resource and ecological services in Louisiana, has been difficult...
Mineral phase-element associations based on sequential leaching of ferromanganese crusts, Amerasia Basin Arctic Ocean
Natalia Konstantinova, James R. Hein, Amy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Pedro Barrulas, Georgy Cherkashov, Pavel Mikhailik, Alexander Khanchuk
2018, Minerals (8)
Ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from Mendeleev Ridge, Chukchi Borderland, and Alpha Ridge, in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, are similar based on morphology and chemical composition. The crusts are characterized by a two- to four-layered stratigraphy. The chemical composition of the Arctic crusts differs significantly from hydrogenetic crusts from elsewhere of...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Tunguska Basin Province, 2008
Craig J. Wandrey, Timothy R. Klett
Thomas E. Moore, Donald L. Gautier, editor(s)
2018, Professional Paper 1824-U
The U.S. Geological Survey has evaluated the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Tunguska Basin Province as part of the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). The Tunguska Basin Province includes an area of approximately 904,000 km2; less than half the area of the province lies north...
NDVI exhibits mixed success in predicting spatiotemporal variation in caribou summer forage quality and quantity
Heather E. Johnson, David D. Gustine, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, Lincoln S. Parrett, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry S. Barboza
2018, Ecosphere (9) 1-19
The satellite‐derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used by researchers and managers to represent ungulate forage conditions in landscapes across the globe, despite limited information about how it compares to empirical measurements of forage quality and quantity. The application of NDVI as a forage metric is particularly appealing...
Evaluation of biodiversity data portals based on requirement analysis
Pedro Luiz Pizzigatti Correa, Andre Filipe de Moraes Batista, Daniel Lins da Silva, Ronaldo Soares Rodrigues, Mike Frame, Marcelo Morandini, Silvio Stanzani, Fernando Correa
2018, Ecological Informatics (48) 215-225
In recent years, concern about the misuse of natural resources has been increasing. It is essential to know in detail the biodiversity of an ecosystem to understand and analyze the impact of human activities on nature, as well as to promote the economic growth of a country. To achieve these goals, public...
Determination of representative uranium and selenium concentrations from groundwater, 2016, Homestake Mining Company Superfund site, Milan, New Mexico
Philip T. Harte, Johanna M. Blake, Kent Becher
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1055
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, collected data on isotopes, age dating, and geochemistry including aqueous uranium concentrations of samples from 20 locations in the vicinity of the Homestake Mining Company Superfund site near Milan, New Mexico. The 20 sampled locations include...
