Landscapes from the waves—Marine terraces of California
Marjorie S. Schulz, Corey Lawrence, Daniel R. Muhs, Carol S. Prentice, Sam Flanagan
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3002
Many coastlines around the world have stair-step landforms, known as marine terraces. Marine terraces make up a large part of coastal California’s landscape—from San Diego to Crescent City. Find out how these landscapes form, why marine terraces are of interest to scientists, and where you can explore these landscapes....
Context-dependent interactions and the regulation of species richness in freshwater fish
Andrew S. MacDougall, Eric Harvey, Jenny L. McCune, Karin A. Nilsson, Joseph Bennett, Jennifer Firn, Timothy Bartley, James B. Grace, Jocelyn Kelly, Tyler D. Tunney, Bailey C. McMeans, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Taku Kadoya, Ellen Esch, Kevin Cazelles, Nigel Lester, Kevin S. McCann
2018, Nature Communications (9) 1-9
Species richness is regulated by a complex network of scale-dependent processes. This complexity can obscure the influence of limiting species interactions, making it difficult to determine if abiotic or biotic drivers are more predominant regulators of richness. Using integrative modeling of freshwater fish richness from 721 lakes along an 11olatitudinal...
Bioremediation in fractured rock: 2. Mobilization of chloroethene compounds from the rock matrix
Allen M. Shapiro, Claire R. Tiedeman, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Daniel J. Goode, Paul A. Hsieh, Pierre Lacombe, Mary F. DeFlaun, Scott R. Drew, Gary P. Curtis
2018, Groundwater (56) 317-336
A mass balance is formulated to evaluate the mobilization of chlorinated ethene compounds (CE) from the rock matrix of a fractured mudstone aquifer under pre- and postbioremediation conditions. The analysis relies on a sparse number of monitoring locations and is constrained by a detailed description of the groundwater flow regime....
Fungal disease prevention in seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa) and other grasses by growth-promoting seed-associated endophytic bacteria from invasive Phragmites australis
Satish Kumar Verma, Kathryn L. Kingsley, Marshall S. Bergen, Kurt P. Kowalski, James F. White
2018, Microorganisms (6) 1-13
Non-cultivated plants carry microbial endophytes that may be used to enhance development and disease resistance of crop species where growth-promoting and protective microbes may have been lost. During seedling establishment, seedlings may be infected by several fungal pathogens that are seed or soil borne. Several species of Fusarium, Pythium and other water moulds...
Continuous water-quality and suspended-sediment transport monitoring in the San Francisco Bay, California, water years 2014–15
Paul A. Buchanan, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer, Daniel N. Livsey
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3013
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water quality and suspended-sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay (bay) as part of a multi-agency effort to address management, water supply, and ecological concerns. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people, and the bay teems both with resident and...
Operational tracking of lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Matthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr
2018, Techniques and Methods 13-A3
Surface motion is an important component of lava lake behavior, but previous studies of lake motion have been focused on short time intervals. In this study, we implement the first continuous, real-time operational routine for tracking lava lake surface motion, applying the technique to the persistent lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u...
Estimates of nitrate loads and yields from groundwater to streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed based on land use and geology
Silvia Terziotti, Paul D. Capel, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Jessica A. Hopple, Scott C. Kronholm
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5160
The water quality of the Chesapeake Bay may be adversely affected by dissolved nitrate carried in groundwater discharge to streams. To estimate the concentrations, loads, and yields of nitrate from groundwater to streams for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a regression model was developed based on measured nitrate concentrations from 156...
SWToolbox: A surface-water tool-box for statistical analysis of streamflow time series
Julie E. Kiang, Kate Flynn, Tong Zhai, Paul Hummel, Gregory E. Granato
2018, Techniques and Methods 4-A11
This report is a user guide for the low-flow analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) computer program. The software combines functionality from two software programs—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SWSTAT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DFLOW. Both of these programs have been used primarily...
Changes in freshwater mussel communities linked to legacy pollution in the Lower Delaware River
Carrie J. Blakeslee, Erik L. Silldorff, Heather S. Galbraith
2018, Northeastern Naturalist (25) 101-116
Freshwater mussels are among the most-imperiled organisms worldwide, although they provide a variety of important functions in the streams and rivers they inhabit. Among Atlantic-slope rivers, the Delaware River is known for its freshwater mussel diversity and biomass; however, limited data are available on the freshwater mussel fauna in the...
Human Bacteroides and total coliforms as indicators of recent combined sewer overflows and rain events in urban creeks
Shannon McGinnis, Susan K. Spencer, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Joel P. Stokdyk, Mark A. Borchardt, David McCarthy, Heather Murphy
2018, Science of the Total Environment (630) 967-976
Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a known source of human fecal pollution and human pathogens in urban water bodies, which may present a significant public health threat. To monitor human fecal contamination in water, bacterial fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are traditionally used. However, because FIOs are not specific to human...
Doublethink and scale mismatch polarize policies for an invasive tree
Caleb P. Roberts, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Dirac Twidwell
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-20
Mismatches between invasive species management policies and ecological knowledge can lead to profound societal consequences. For this reason, natural resource agencies have adopted the scientifically-based density-impact invasive species curve to guide invasive species management. We use the density-impact model to evaluate how well management policies for a native invader (Juniperus...
Metamodeling and mapping of nitrate flux in the unsaturated zone and groundwater, Wisconsin, USA
Bernard T. Nolan, Christopher T. Green, Paul F. Juckem, Lixia Liao, James E. Reddy
2018, Journal of Hydrology (559) 428-441
Nitrate contamination of groundwater in agricultural areas poses a major challenge to the sustainability of water resources. Aquifer vulnerability models are useful tools that can help resource managers identify areas of concern, but quantifying nitrogen (N) inputs in such models is challenging, especially at large spatial scales. We sought to...
Biological and ecological science for Wisconsin—A Great Lakes and Rivers State
U.S. Geological Survey
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3004
Wisconsin and natural resources go hand-in-hand. Tourism, which generates $19 billion annually and sustains about 200,000 jobs, depends on an abundance of lakes, rivers, shorelines, and woodlands for fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor recreation. Rivers and floodplains in the Upper Mississippi Basin, including the Mississippi River, are part...
Environmental conditions synchronize waterbird mortality events in the Great Lakes
Karine Prince, Jennifer G. Chipault, C. LeAnn White, Benjamin Zuckerberg
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (55) 1327-1338
Since the 1960s, periodic outbreaks of avian botulism type E have contributed to large-scale die-offs of thousands of waterbirds throughout the Great Lakes of the United States. In recent years, these events have become more common and widespread. Occurring during the summer and autumn months, the prevalence...
Rare earth element and rare metal inventory of central Asia
Mark J. Mihalasky, Robert D. Tucker, Karine Renaud, Ingrid M. Verstraeten
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3089
Rare earth elements (REE), with their unique physical and chemical properties, are an essential part of modern living. REE have enabled development and manufacture of high-performance materials, processes, and electronic technologies commonly used today in computing and communications, clean energy and transportation, medical treatment and health care, glass and ceramics,...
Comparability of river suspended-sediment sampling and laboratory analysis methods
Joel T. Groten, Gregory D. Johnson
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5023
Accurate measurements of suspended sediment, a leading water-quality impairment in many Minnesota rivers, are important for managing and protecting water resources; however, water-quality standards for suspended sediment in Minnesota are based on grab field sampling and total suspended solids (TSS) laboratory analysis methods that have underrepresented concentrations of suspended sediment...
West Nile virus infection in American singer canaries: An experimental model in a highly susceptible avian species
Erik K. Hofmeister, Melissa Lund, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler
2018, Veterinary Pathology (55) 531-538
This study investigated the susceptibility of American singer canaries (Serinus canaria) to West Nile virus (WNV) infection. Adult canaries were inoculated with 105, 102, and 101plaque forming units (PFU) of WNV. All birds became infected and mortality occurred by 5 days postinoculation. The load of viral RNA as determined by...
Effects of sediment application on Nyssa aquatica and Taxodium distichum saplings
Isabel Grandy, Linda Messina, Evelyn R. Anemaet, Beth A. Middleton
2018, Wetlands (38) 855-859
The decline of Taxodium distichum forests along the Gulf Coast of North America is partly due to elevation loss and subsequent flooding. In many coastal wetlands, a common approach for coastal restoration is to rebuild elevation through the application of dredge material, but this technique has not been used widely...
Information to prevent human exposure to disease agents associated with wildlife—U.S. Geological Survey circulars on zoonotic disease
Carol U. Meteyer, Gail Moede Rogall
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3077
The U.S. Geological Survey in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others have published reports with information about geographic distribution, specific pathogens, disease ecology, and strategies to avoid exposure and infection for a selection of zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are diseases that can be passed from animals...
Groundwater-level analysis of selected wells in the Hoosic River Valley near Hoosick Falls, New York, for aquifer framework and properties
John Williams, Paul M. Heisig
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1015
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, analyzed groundwater levels, drilling record logs, and field water-quality data from selected wells, and the surficial geology in the Hoosic River valley south of the village of Hoosick Falls, New York, to provide information about...
Long-term nutrient reductions lead to the unprecedented recovery of a temperate coastal region
Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Dave J Wilcox, Rebecca R. Murphy, Jennifer L. Keisman, Cassie Gurbisz, Michael P. Hannam, J. Brooke Landry, Kenneth A. Moore, Christopher J. Patrick, Jeremy Testa, Donald E. Weller, Richard A. Batiuk
2018, PNAS (115) 3658-3662
Human actions, including nutrient pollution, are causing the widespread degradation of coastal habitats, and efforts to restore these valuable ecosystems have been largely unsuccessful or of limited scope. We provide an example of successful restoration linking effective management of nutrients to the successful recovery of submersed aquatic vegetation along thousands...
Seismicity induced by wastewater injection in Washington County, Ohio: Influence of preexisting structure, regional stress regime, and well operations
Brian S. Currie, James C. Free, Michael R. Brudzinski, Max Leveridge, Robert J. Skoumal
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 4123-4140
Recent seismicity in Washington County, Ohio, has been suggested to be induced by wastewater disposal operations despite injection ~2 km above the Precambrian basement. We investigated the relationships between disposal well locations and operational histories, spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity enhanced by waveform correlation, and mapped subsurface structures....
Collection methods and quality assessment for Escherichia coli, water quality, and microbial source tracking data within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, Arizona, 2015-16
Nicholas V. Paretti, Alissa L. Coes, Christopher M. Kephart, Justine P. Mayo
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5139
Tumacácori National Historical Park protects the culturally important Mission, San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a portion of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. This report describes the methods and quality assurance procedures used in the collection of water samples for the analysis of Escherichia coli (E....
Climate-related variation in plant peak biomass and growth phenology across Pacific Northwest tidal marshes
Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne
2018, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (202) 212-221
The interannual variability of tidal marsh plant phenology is largely unknown and may have important ecological consequences. Marsh plants are critical to the biogeomorphic feedback processes that build estuarine soils, maintain marsh elevation relative to sea level, and sequester carbon. We calculated Tasseled Cap Greenness, a metric of plant biomass, using...
Performance metrics for the assessment of satellite data products: An ocean color case study
Bridget N. Seegers, Richard P. Stumpf, Blake A. Schaeffer, Keith A. Loftin, P. Jeremy Werdell
2018, Optics Express (26) 7404-7422
Performance assessment of ocean color satellite data has generally relied on statistical metrics chosen for their common usage and the rationale for selecting certain metrics is infrequently explained. Commonly reported statistics based on mean squared errors, such as the coefficient of determination (r2), root mean square error, and regression slopes,...
