Life history attributes of Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) and comparisons with other North American subspecies
Janet M. Ruth
2017, The American Midland Naturalist (178) 64-81
Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus—commonly referred to as the Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow—occurs in the desert and plains grasslands of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Although a subspecies of conservation concern, this is the first intensive study of its life history and breeding ecology, providing baseline data and facilitating comparisons...
Tracking the fate of nitrate through pulse-flow wetlands: A mesocosm scale 15N enrichment tracer study
Tiffany L. Messer, Michael R. Burchell, J.K. Bohlke, Craig R. Tobias
2017, Ecological Engineering (106) 597-608
Quantitative information about the fate of applied nitrate (NO3-N) in pulse-flow constructed wetlands is essential for designing wetland treatment systems and assessing their nitrogen removal services for agricultural and stormwater applications. Although many studies have documented NO3-N losses in wetlands, controlled experiments indicating the relative importance of different processes and...
Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish
Abby Schoonyan, Richard T. Kraus, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Steven J. Cooke, H. Andrew Cook, Todd A. Hayden, Charles C. Krueger
2017, Animal Biotelemetry (5)
Background Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have healed. Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a valuable, highly exploited fishery resource in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Here, fishery capture...
Land before water: The relative temporal sequence of human alteration of freshwater ecosystems in the conterminous United States
Ellen Wohl, Katherine B. Lininger, Jill Baron
2017, Anthropocene (18) 27-46
Human alteration of ecosystems prior to Euro-American contact in the area that became the conterminous United States disproportionately affected terrestrial systems compared to freshwater ecosystems, primarily through the use of fire and agriculture in some regions of the United States. After circa 1600 AD, trapping of beaver, along with intensive modification of rivers and...
Two-step adaptive management for choosing between two management actions
Alana L. Moore, Leila Walker, Michael C. Runge, Eve McDonald-Madden, Michael A McCarthy
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 1210-1222
Adaptive management is widely advocated to improve environmental management. Derivations of optimal strategies for adaptive management, however, tend to be case specific and time consuming. In contrast, managers might seek relatively simple guidance, such as insight into when a new potential management action should be considered, and how much effort...
Active tectonics of the northern Mojave Desert: The 2017 Desert Symposium field trip road log
David M. Miller, R.E. Reynolds, Geoffrey Phelps, Jeffrey S. Honke, Andrew J. Cyr, David C. Buesch, Kevin M. Schmidt, G. Losson
2017, Conference Paper, ECSZ Does It: Revisiting the Eastern California Shear Zone
The 2017 Desert Symposium field trip will highlight recent work by the U.S. Geological Survey geologists and geophysicists, who have been mapping young sediment and geomorphology associated with active tectonic features in the least well-known part of the eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ). This area, stretching from Barstow eastward in...
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Pannonian Basin Province, Hungary, 2016
Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3033
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 119 million barrels of oil and 944 billion cubic feet of gas in the Hungarian part of the Pannonian Basin Province....
Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill S. Baron, Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren E. Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul C. D. Milly, Toni L. Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy R. Newman, Andrea C. Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha C. Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard A. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam J. Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia L. Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake F. Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1076
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call...
Historical Topographic Map Collection bookmark
Kristin A. Fishburn, Gregory J. Allord
2017, General Information Product 179
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program is scanning published USGS 1:250,000-scale and larger topographic maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006. The goal of this project, which began publishing the historical scanned maps in 2011, is to provide a digital repository of...
Developing a landscape‐scale, multi‐species, and cost‐efficient conservation strategy for imperilled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin, USA
David R. Smith, Robert S. Butler, Jess W Jones, Catherine M Gatenby, Roberta Hylton, Mary Parkin, Cindy Schulz
2017, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (27) 1224-1239
Strategic conservation of imperilled species faces several major challenges including uncertainty in species response to management actions, budgetary constraints that limit options, and the need to scale expected conservation benefits from local to landscape levels and from single to multiple species.A structured decision‐making process was applied to address these...
Landsat-based trend analysis of lake dynamics across northern permafrost regions
Ingmar Nitze, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, Christopher D. Arp, Mathias Ulrich, Alexander Federov, Alexandra Veremeeva
2017, Remote Sensing (9)
Lakes are a ubiquitous landscape feature in northern permafrost regions. They have a strong impact on carbon, energy and water fluxes and can be quite responsive to climate change. The monitoring of lake change in northern high latitudes, at a sufficiently accurate spatial and temporal resolution, is crucial for understanding...
Rare earth mineral potential in the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain from integrated geophysical, geochemical, and geological approaches
Anjana K. Shah, Carleton R. Bern, Bradley S. Van Gosen, David L. Daniels, William Benzel, James R. Budahn, Karl J. Ellefsen, Adam T. Karst, Richard Davis
2017, GSA Bulletin (129) 1140-1157
We combined geophysical, geochemical, mineralogical, and geological data to evaluate the regional presence of rare earth element (REE)−bearing minerals in heavy mineral sand deposits of the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain. We also analyzed regional differences in these data to determine probable sedimentary provenance. Analyses of heavy mineral separates covering the...
The U.S. Geological Survey Flagstaff Science Campus—Providing expertise on planetary science, ecology, water resources, geologic processes, and human interactions with the Earth
Robert J. Hart, R. Greg Vaughan, Kristin McDougall, Todd Wojtowicz, Prasad Thenkenbail
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3051
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Flagstaff Science Campus is focused on interdisciplinary study of the Earth and solar system, and has the scientific expertise to detect early environmental changes and provide strategies to minimize possible adverse effects on humanity. The Flagstaff Science Campus (FSC) is located in Flagstaff, Arizona,...
A new species of iguana Brachylophus Cuvier 1829 (Sauria: Iguania: Iguanidae) from Gau Island, Fiji Islands
Robert N. Fisher, Jone Niukula, Dick Watling, Peter S. Harlow
2017, Zootaxa (4273) 407-422
The south Pacific iguanas (Brachylophus) currently have three recognized living species in Fiji. Recent surveys have uncovered more specific variation (morphological and genetic) within the genus and have better defined the geographic ranges of the named species. One of these recent discoveries is a strikingly different iguana from all other...
On the probability distribution of daily streamflow in the United States
Annalise G. Blum, Stacey A. Archfield, Richard M. Vogel
2017, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (21) 3093-3103
Daily streamflows are often represented by flow duration curves (FDCs), which illustrate the frequency with which flows are equaled or exceeded. FDCs have had broad applications across both operational and research hydrology for decades; however, modeling FDCs has proven elusive. Daily streamflow is a complex time series with flow values...
Relative seismic velocity variations correlate with deformation at Kilauea volcano
Clare Donaldson, Corentin Caudron, Robert G. Green, Weston Thelen, Robert S White
2017, Science Advances (3)
Seismic noise interferometry allows the continuous and real-time measurement of relative seismic velocity through a volcanic edifice. Because seismic velocity is sensitive to the pressurization state of the system, this method is an exciting new monitoring tool at active volcanoes. Despite the potential of this tool, no studies have yet...
New methodology for computing tsunami generation by subaerial landslides: Application to the 2015 Tyndall Glacier landslide, Alaska
David L. George, Richard M. Iverson, Charles M. Cannon
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 7276-7284
Landslide-generated tsunamis pose significant hazards and involve complex, multiphase physics that are challenging to model. We present a new methodology in which our depth-averaged two-phase model D-Claw is used to seamlessly simulate all stages of landslide dynamics as well as tsunami generation, propagation, and inundation. Because the model describes the...
Rigorously valuing the role of coral reefs in coastal protection: An example from Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Curt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Erik Lowe, James B. Shope, Ann E. Gibbs, Mike Beck, Barry A. Nickel
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of Coastal Dynamics 2017
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by exposing communities to flooding hazards. The protective services of these natural defenses are not assessed in the same rigorous, economic terms as artificial defenses such as seawalls, and therefore often not considered in decision-making. Here we present a new methodology that combines...
Wave dynamics and flooding on low-lying tropical reef-lined coasts
Ap van Dongeran, Curt D. Storlazzi, Ellen Quataert, Stuart Pearson
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings Coastal Dynamics 2017
Many tropical islands and coasts are lined with coral reefs. These reefs are host to valuable ecosystems that support abundant marine species and provide resources for fisheries and recreation. As a flood defense, reefs protect coastlines from coastal storm damage and flooding by reducing the majority of incident wave energy. However, during...
Parcels versus pixels: modeling agricultural land use across broad geographic regions using parcel-based field boundaries
Terry L. Sohl, Jordan Dornbierer, Steve Wika, Kristi Sayler, Robert Quenzer
2017, Journal of Land Use Science (12) 197-217
Land use and land cover (LULC) change occurs at a local level within contiguous ownership and management units (parcels), yet LULC models primarily use pixel-based spatial frameworks. The few parcel-based models being used overwhelmingly focus on small geographic areas, limiting the ability to assess LULC change impacts at regional to...
Assessment of phytoplankton resources suitable for bigheaded carps in Lake Michigan derived from remote sensing and bioenergetics
Karl R. Anderson, Duane Chapman, Tim T. Wynne, Craig P. Paukert
2017, Journal of Great Lakes Research (43) 90-99
We used bioenergetic simulations combined with satellite-measured water temperature and estimates of algal food availability to predict the habitat suitability of Lake Michigan for adult silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (H. nobilis). Depending on water temperature, we found that bigheaded carp require ambient algal concentrations between 1 and...
Gulf Coast vulnerability assessment: Mangrove, tidal emergent marsh, barrier islands and oyster reef
Amanda Watson, Joshua Reece, Blair Tirpak, Cynthia Kallio Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Mark Woodrey, Megan K. LaPeyre, Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander
2017, Report
Climate, sea level rise, and urbanization are undergoing unprecedented levels of combined change and are expected to have large effects on natural resources—particularly along the Gulf of Mexico coastline (Gulf Coast). Management decisions to address these effects (i.e., adaptation) require an understanding of the relative vulnerability of various resources to...
Daily reservoir sedimentation model: Case study from the Fena Valley Reservoir, Guam
Mathieu D. Marineau, Scott Wright
2017, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (143)
A model to compute reservoir sedimentation rates at daily timescales is presented. The model uses streamflow and sediment load data from nearby stream gauges to obtain an initial estimate of sediment yield for the reservoir’s watershed; it is then calibrated to the total deposition calculated from repeat bathymetric surveys. Long-term...
Reproductive strategy, spawning induction, spawning temperatures and early life history of captive sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki
Janice L. Albers, Mark L. Wildhaber
2017, Journal of Fish Biology (91) 58-79
Macrhybopsis reproduction and propagule traits were studied in the laboratory using two temperature regimes and three hormone treatments to determine which methods produced the most spawns. Only sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki spawned successfully although sturgeon chub Macrhybopsis gelida released unfertilized eggs. All temperature and hormone treatments produced M. meeki spawns,...
Designing a solution to enable agency-academic scientific collaboration for disasters
Lindley A. Mease, Theodora Gibbs-Plessl, Ashley Erickson, K. A. Ludwig, Christopher M. Reddy, Jane Lubchenco
2017, Ecology and Society (22)
As large-scale environmental disasters become increasingly frequent and more severe globally, people and organizations that prepare for and respond to these crises need efficient and effective ways to integrate sound science into their decision making. Experience has shown that integrating nongovernmental scientific expertise into disaster decision making can improve the...
