The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy
Gabrielle Canonico, J. Emmett Duffy, Masha Edmonson, Katie Fillingham, Abigail Benson, Kelsey Bisson, Amanda Demopoulos, Beth Hinchey, Katsumi Matsumoto, Chris Meyer, James Price, Elaine Shen, Woody Turner, Mike Weise, Andrea Vander Woude, Lauren Wenzel
2024, Report
President Biden has been clear that the ocean is central to life on Earth. As he has proclaimed, “the ocean powers millions of jobs; feeds and sustains us; and is a rejuvenating source of inspiration, exploration, and recreation.” The Biden-Harris Administration has worked hard to fulfill the President’s goal to...
Coyote use of prairie dog colonies is most frequent in areas used by American badgers
Rebecca Windell, Larissa L. Bailey, Travis Livieri, David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Stewart Breck
2024, Journal of Mammalogy
The consequences of intraguild predation on vulnerable subordinate species are an important consideration in the recovery of endangered species. In prairie ecosystems, coyotes (Canis latrans) are the primary predator of endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes; hereafter, ferrets) and presumably compete for prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) prey. Coyote predation of ferrets...
Evaluating post-wildfire debris-flow rainfall thresholds and volume models at the 2020 Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, USA
Francis K. Rengers, Samuel Bower, Andrew Knapp, Jason W. Kean, Danielle W. vonLembke, Matthew A. Thomas, Jaime Kostelnik, Katherine R. Barnhart, Matthew Bethel, Joseph E. Gartner, Madeline Hille, Dennis M. Staley, Justin K. Anderson, Elizabeth K. Roberts, Stephen B. DeLong, Belize Lane, Paxton Ridgeway, Brendan Murphy
2024, NHESS (24) 2093-2114
As wildfire increases in the western United States, so do postfire debris-flow hazards. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed two separate models to estimate (1) rainfall intensity thresholds for postfire debris-flow initiation and (2) debris-flow volumes. However, the information necessary to test the accuracy of...
Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) distribution
Kara M. White, Amanda E. Cheeseman, Joshua D. Stafford, Robert Charles Lonsinger
2024, Journal of Mammalogy
The Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) is a small carnivore native to central North America that has experienced significant population reductions, and there is a lack of information about the species that could inform conservation. Our study aimed to address knowledge gaps about the distribution and habitat associations of the...
Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States
Roland Kays, Matthew H. Snider, George Hess, Michael V. Cove, Alex Jensen, Hila Shamon, William J. McShea, Brigit Rooney, Maximilian L. Allen, Charles E. Pekins, Christopher C. Wilmers, Mary E. Pendergast, Austin M. Green, Justin Suraci, Matthew S. Leslie, Sophie Nasrallah, Dan Farkas, Mark Jordan, Melissa Grigione, Michael LaScaleia, Miranda L. Davis, Chris Hansen, Josh Millspaugh, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Havrda, Robert Long, Kathryn R. Remine, Kodi J. Jaspers, Diana J. R. Lafferty, Tru Hubbard, Colin E. Studds, Erika L. Barthelmess, Katherine Andy, Andrea Romero, Brian J. O’Neill, Melissa T.R. Hawkins, Jason V. Lombardi, Maksim Sergeyev, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Michael S. Rentz, Christopher Nagy, Jon D Davenport, Christine C. Rega-Brodsky, Cara L. Appel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Sean T. Giery, Christopher A. Whittier, Jesse M. Alston, Chris Sutherland, Christopher Rota, Thomas Murphy, Thomas E. Lee Jr., Alessio Mortelliti, Dylan L. Bergman, Justin A. Compton, Brian D. Gerber, Jess Burr, Kylie Rezendes, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Nathaniel H. Wehr, John F. Benson, M. Teague O’Mara, David S. Jachowski, Morgan Gray, Dean E. Beyer Jr., Jerrold L. Belant, Robert V. Horan III, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Kellie M. Kuhn, Steven C. M. Hasstedt, Marketa Zimova, Sophie M. Moore, Daniel J. Herrera, Sarah Fritts, Andrew J. Edelman, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Tyler R. Petroelje, Sean A. Neiswenter, Derek R. Risch, Fabiola Iannarilli, Marius van der Merwe, Sean P. Maher, Zach J. Farris, Stephen L. Webb, David S. Mason, Marcus A. Lashley, Andrew M. Wilson, John P. Vanek, Samuel R. Wehr, L. Mike Conner, James C. Beasley, Helen L. Bontrager, Carolina Baruzzi, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Mike D. Proctor, Jan Schipper, Katherine Weiss, Andrea K. Darracq, Evan G. Barr, Peter D. Alexander, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Daniel A. Bogan, Christopher M. Schalk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Scott LaPoint, Laura S. Whipple, Helen Ivy Rowe, Kayleigh Mullen, Tori Bird, Adam Zorn, LaRoy Brandt, Richard G. Lathrop, Craig McCain, Anthony P. Crupi, James Clark, Arielle Parsons
2024, Diversity and Distributions (30)
AimThe assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become more important than climate and habitat resources in...
Total phosphorus and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads from two main tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–20
Liam N. Schenk, Caelan Simeone
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1034
Total phosphorus (TP) and suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) and loads were computed at two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in the upper Klamath River Basin on the Sprague (USGS site ID 11501000) and Williamson (USGS site ID 11502500) Rivers using high temporal resolution turbidity and streamflow data to develop surrogate regression...
An integrated perspective of paleoenvironmental change in the Western Interior Seaway before and during OAE-2 reveals how organic-rich mudstones form in dynamic environments
Katherine L. French, Jason A. Flaum, Justin E. Birdwell
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (642)
Organic and inorganic geochemistry was integrated with sedimentology from the Eagle Ford Group in the U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast-3 drill core to investigate why organic matter enrichment and anoxia predate the Cenomanian–Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE-2) at the southern Western Interior Seaway (WIS). The relationship between the...
Geographic principles applied to population dynamics: A spatially interpolated integrated population model
Brian G. Prochazka, Peter S. Coates, Shawn T. O’Neil, Shawn P. Espinosa, Cameron L. Aldridge
2024, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (15) 1394-1407
A major impediment to wildlife conservation and management, from a quantitative perspective, is dealing with high degrees of uncertainty associated with population estimates. Integrated population models (IPMs) can help alleviate that challenge, but they are often limited to narrow spatial or temporal windows...
Factors influencing larval coregonine spatial distribution in Lake Geneva (Europe) and Lake Superior (North America) during a single season near known spawning sites
Jamie A. Dobosenski, Daniel L. Yule, Jean Guillard, Orlane Anneville, Edmund J. Isaac, Jason D. Stockwell, Jared T. Myers, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Rosaura J. Chapina, Seth A. Moore
2024, International Journal of Limnology (60)
Survival rate of the larval stage is an important driver of fish recruitment. To understand mechanisms regulating larval survival it is important to understand the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors that shape larval spatial distributions. We studied larval Coregonus distributions in surface waters (surface to 1 m) by repeatedly sampling study...
Metal release from manganese nodules in anoxic seawater and implications for deep-sea mining dewatering operations
Yang Xiang, Janelle M. Steffen, Phoebe J. Lam, Amy Gartman, Kira Mizell, Jessica N. Fitzsimmons
2024, ACS ES&T Water (4) 2957-2967
The potential mining of deep-sea polymetallic nodules has been gaining increasing attention due to their enrichment in metals essential for a low-carbon future. To date, there have been few scientific studies concerning the geochemical consequences of dewatered mining waste discharge into the pelagic water column, which...
Detection of periodic peaks in Karenia brevis concentration consistent with the time-delay logistic equation
Bruce E. Kurtz, James E. Landmeyer, James K. Culter
2024, Science of the Total Environment (946)
The logistic equation models single-species population growth with a sigmoid curve that begins as exponential and ends with an asymptotic approach to a final population determined by natural system carrying capacity. But the population of a natural system often does not stabilize as it approaches carrying capacity. Instead, it...
Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease
2024, Geology (52) 695-699
Active orogens balance tectonic rock uplift with erosion, commonly via river incision coupled to landslide denudation of “threshold” hillslopes, but sediment’s role in this feedback is unclear. We report fluvial geometry, and sediment size, prevalence, and mobility across two ≤600-m-tall gneissic northern Alaska...
Quantitative microbial risk assessment with microbial source tracking for mixed fecal sources contaminating recreational river waters, Iowa, USA
Tucker R. Burch, Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Sarah Opelt, Rachel M. Cook, Joe Heffron, Amanda Brown, Claire E. Hruby, Mark A. Borchardt
2024, Environmental Science & Technology Water (4) 2789-2802
Fecal contamination of surface water can cause acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) among recreators. AGI risk varies among human, livestock, and wildlife fecal sources, but the prevalence of individual sources is unknown for most recreational sites. We estimated AGI risk for six sites near Des Moines, Iowa,...
Satellite telemetry reveals high-use internesting areas and international foraging extent for loggerhead turtles tagged in southeast Florida, USA
Glenn D. Goodwin, Kristen Hart, Abby C. Evans, Derek A. Burkholder
2024, Endangered Species Research (54) 245-259
Developing conservation strategies for highly migratory marine species relies on understanding their spatial distributions. Nesting populations of female loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles typically travel from widely dispersed foraging areas and make use of common internesting areas between nesting events. Protection of these areas is essential to the conservation of...
Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) beyond the breeding grounds: Occurrence, relative density, and habitat associations in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Pamela E. Michael, Jeffrey S. Gleason, J. Christopher Haney, Kathy M. Hixson, Yvan G. Satgé, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2024, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (136) 220-236
North American Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) breed primarily in the Prairie Pothole region of southern Canada and the northern United States, winter in Central and South American waters, and often migrate through the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). This species has exhibited long-term population declines and is exposed to a...
Perspectives on the future of host-microbe biology from the Council on Microbial Sciences of the American Society for Microbiology
Monica Gestal, A. Elizabeth Oates, Denise M. Akob, Alison Criss, Host-Microbe Retreat Planning Committee, Host-Microbe Retreat Speakers
2024, mSphere (9)
Host-microbe biology (HMB) stands on the cusp of redefinition, challenging conventional paradigms to instead embrace a more holistic understanding of the microbial sciences. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Council on Microbial Sciences hosted a virtual retreat in 2023 to identify the future of the HMB field and innovations needed...
Two-dimensional hydraulic model for the Chain of Lakes on the Fox River near McHenry, Illinois
Charles V. Cigrand, Michael R. Ament
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5056
Forecasts of flows entering and leaving the Chain of Lakes on the Fox River in northeastern Illinois are critical information to water-resource managers operating the Stratton Dam at McHenry, Illinois. These managers determine the optimal operation of the Stratton Dam at McHenry, Ill., to manage Chain of Lakes pool levels...
Multistage time-to-event models improve survival inference by partitioning mortality processes of tracked organisms
Suresh A. Sethi, Alex L. Koeberle, Anna J. Poulton, Daniel W. Linden, Duane R. Diefenbach, Frances E. Buderman, Mary Jo Casalena, Kenneth Duren
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Advances in tagging technologies are expanding opportunities to estimate survival of fish and wildlife populations. Yet, capture and handling effects could impact survival outcomes and bias inference about natural mortality processes. We developed a multistage time-to-event model that can partition the survival process into sequential phases that reflect the tagged...
Population and spatial dynamics of desert bighorn sheep in Grand Canyon during an outbreak of respiratory pneumonia
Clinton W. Epps, P. Brandon Holton, Ryan J. Monello, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Sarah Mccrimmon Gaulke, William Michael Janousek, Tyler G. Creech, Tabitha A. Graves
2024, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (12)
Introduction: Terrestrial species in riverine ecosystems face unique constraints leading to diverging patterns of population structure, connectivity, and disease dynamics. Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in Grand Canyon National Park, a large native population in the southwestern USA, offer a unique opportunity to evaluate population patterns and processes in a...
An enhanced and expanded Toolbox for River Velocimetry using Images from Aircraft (TRiVIA)
Carl J. Legleiter, Paul J. Kinzel
2024, River Research and Applications (40) 1602-1616
Detailed, accurate information on flow patterns in river channels can improve understanding of habitat conditions, geomorphic processes, and potential hazards to help inform water management. Data describing flow patterns in river channels can be obtained efficiently via image-based techniques that have become more widely used in recent years as the...
Representation of surface-water flows using Gradient-Related Discharge in an Everglades Network
E. Swain, T. Adams
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5041
The Everglades Depth Estimation Network interpolates water-level gage data to produce daily water-level elevations for the Everglades in south Florida. These elevations were used to estimate flow vectors (gradients and directions) and volumetric flow rates using the Gradient-Related Discharge in an Everglades Network (GARDEN) application developed by the U.S....
Bibliography of water-quality studies in Gateway National Recreation Area, New York and New Jersey
Philip Savoy, Maria Marionkova, Christopher Schubert
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1035
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provided technical assistance to the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the USGS-NPS Water-Quality Partnership, by gathering references related to water-quality research conducted in the three units of Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE): Jamaica Bay and Staten Island in New York, and Sandy Hook...
Understanding sea otter population change in southeast Alaska
Joseph Michael Eisaguirre, Toshio D. Matsuoka, George G. Esslinger, Benjamin P Weitzman, Paul A. Schuette, Jamie N. Womble
2024, Fact Sheet 2024-3007
IntroductionThe Southeast Alaska (SE) stock of northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) ranges from Cape Yakataga on the north to the Dixon Entrance on the south. During the maritime fur trade, sea otters were commercially harvested to near extinction in SE for their pelts and were presumed unlikely to naturally...
Unified 200 kyr paleohydrologic history of the Southern Great Basin: Death Valley, Searles Valley, Owens Valley and the Devils Hole cave
Tim Lowenstein, Kristian Olson, Brian W. Stewart, David McGee, Justin Stroup, Adam M. Hudson, Kathleen Wendt, Mark Peaple, Sarah Feakins, Ronald Spencer, Tripti Bhattacharya, Steven P. Lundblad, Ronald Litwin
2024, Quaternary Science Reviews (336)
We present a hydroclimate synthesis of the southern Great Basin over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles focused on paleolakes in Death Valley (core DV93-1), Searles Valley (core SLAPP-SRLS17), Owens Valley (core OL92), and the Devils Hole cave. There is...
In situ lung dust analysis by automated Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy: A method for assessing inorganic particles in tissue from coal miners
Emily A. Sarver, C. Keles, Heather A. Lowers, L. Zell-Baran, Leonard H. T. Go, J. Hua, C. Cool, Cecile Rose, F.H. Green, K. S. Almberg, R. A. Cohen
2024, Archives of Pathology (148) e154-e169
Context.—Overexposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause severe lung disease including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) has been used for in situ lung dust particle analysis for evaluation of disease etiology. Automating such work can reduce time,...
