Conflation and aggregation of spatial data improve predictive models for species with limited habitats: a case of the threatened yellow-billed cuckoo in Arizona, USA
Miguel L. Villarreal, Charles van Riper III, Roy E. Petrakis
2013, Applied Geography (47) 57-69
Riparian vegetation provides important wildlife habitat in the Southwestern United States, but limited distributions and spatial complexity often leads to inaccurate representation in maps used to guide conservation. We test the use of data conflation and aggregation on multiple vegetation/land-cover maps to improve the accuracy of habitat models for the...
Advances and applications of occupancy models
Larissa Bailey, Darry I. MacKenzie, James D. Nichols
2013, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (5) 1269-1279
Summary: The past decade has seen an explosion in the development and application of models aimed at estimating species occurrence and occupancy dynamics while accounting for possible non-detection or species misidentification. We discuss some recent occupancy estimation methods and the biological systems that motivated their development. Collectively, these models offer...
Descriptive and geoenvironmental model for Co-Cu-Au deposits in metasedimentary rocks
John F. Slack, Craig A. Johnson, J. Douglas Causey, Karen Lund, Klaus J. Schulz, John E. Gray, Robert G. Eppinger
John F. Slack, editor(s)
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-G
IntroductionThis report is a revised model for a specific type of cobalt-copper-gold (Co-Cu-Au) deposit that will be evaluated in the next U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of undiscovered mineral resources in the United States (see Ferrero and others, 2012). Emphasis is on providing an up-to-date deposit model that includes both...
Water-quality data of lakes and wetlands in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, 2007–2009
Douglas R. Halm, Nikki Guldager
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1208
Over a three-year period (2007–2009), in-situ measurements were taken and water-quality samples were collected from 111 lakes and wetlands located in the Yukon Flats, Alaska, during a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wetlands inventory. The U.S. Geological Survey performed the chemical analyses on the retrieved water-quality samples. Results from the...
Water column and bed-sediment core samples collected from Brownlee Reservoir near Oxbow, Oregon, 2012
Ryan L. Fosness, Jesse Naymik, Candice B. Hopkins, John F. DeWild
2013, Data Series 809
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Idaho Power Company, collected water-column and bed-sediment core samples from eight sites in Brownlee Reservoir near Oxbow, Oregon, during May 5–7, 2012. Water-column and bed-sediment core samples were collected at each of the eight sites and analyzed for total mercury and methylmercury. Additional...
Digital-image processing and image analysis of glacier ice
Joan J. Fitzpatrick
2013, Techniques and Methods 7-D1
This document provides a methodology for extracting grain statistics from 8-bit color and grayscale images of thin sections of glacier ice—a subset of physical properties measurements typically performed on ice cores. This type of analysis is most commonly used to characterize the evolution of ice-crystal size, shape, and intercrystalline spatial...
Quagga and zebra mussels: biology, impacts, and control
Thomas F. Nalepa, Donald W. Schloesser, editor(s)
2013, Book
Quagga and Zebra Mussels: Biology, Impacts, and Control, Second Edition provides a broad view of the zebra/quagga mussel issue, offering a historic perspective and up-to-date information on mussel research. Comprising 48 chapters, this second edition includes reviews of mussel morphology, physiology, and behavior. It details mussel distribution and spread in...
Sediment quality assessment in tidal salt marshes in northern California, USA: An evaluation of multiple lines of evidence approach
Hyun-Min Hwang, Robert S. Carr, Gary N. Cherr, Peter G. Green, Edwin G. Grosholz, Linda Judah, Steven G. Morgan, Scott Ogle, Vanessa K. Rashbrook, Wendy L. Rose, Swee J. Teh, Carol A. Vines, Susan L. Anderson
2013, Science of the Total Environment (454-455) 189-198
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of integrating a traditional sediment quality triad approach with selected sublethal chronic indicators in resident species in assessing sediment quality in four salt marshes in northern California, USA. These included the highly contaminated (Stege Marsh) and relatively clean (China Camp)...
Preparation and characterization of nickel-spiked freshwater sediments for toxicity tests: toward more environmentally realistic nickel partitioning
William G. Brumbaugh, John M. Besser, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Thomas W. May, Chris D. Ivey, Christian E. Schlekat, Emily R. Garman
2013, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (32) 2482-2494
Two spiking methods were compared and nickel (Ni) partitioning was evaluated during a series of toxicity tests with 8 different freshwater sediments having a range of physicochemical characteristics. A 2-step spiking approach with immediate pH adjustment by addition of NaOH at a 2:1 molar ratio to the spiked Ni was...
Characterization of hydrodynamic and sediment conditions in the lower Yampa River at Deerlodge Park, east entrance to Dinosaur National Monument, northwest Colorado, 2011
Cory A. Williams
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3273
The Yampa River in northwestern Colorado is the largest, relatively unregulated river system in the upper Colorado River Basin. Water from the Yampa River Basin continues to be sought for a number of municipal, industrial, and energy uses. It is anticipated that future water development within the Yampa River Basin...
Evaporation from Lake Mead, Nevada and Arizona, March 2010 through February 2012
Michael T. Moreo, Amy Swancar
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5229
Evaporation from Lake Mead was measured using the eddy-covariance method for the 2-year period starting March 2010 and ending February 2012. When corrected for energy imbalances, annual eddy-covariance evaporation was 2,074 and 1,881 millimeters (81.65 and 74.07 inches), within the range of previous estimates. There was a 9-percent decrease in...
Sea-level change during the last 2500 years in New Jersey, USA
Andrew C. Kemp, Benjamin P. Horton, Christopher H. Vane, Christopher E. Bernhardt, D. Reide Corbett, Simon E. Engelhart, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Andrew C. Parnell, Niamh Cahill
2013, Quaternary Science Reviews (81) 90-104
Relative sea-level changes during the last ∼2500 years in New Jersey, USA were reconstructed to test if late Holocene sea level was stable or included persistent and distinctive phases of variability. Foraminifera and bulk-sediment δ13C values were combined to reconstruct paleomarsh elevation with decimeter precision from sequences of salt-marsh sediment...
Preliminary estimates of annual agricultural pesticide use for counties of the conterminous United States, 2010-11
Nancy T. Baker, Wesley W. Stone
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1295
This report provides preliminary estimates of annual agricultural use of 374 pesticide compounds in counties of the conterminous United States in 2010 and 2011, compiled by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013). U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) county-level data for harvested-crop acreage were used in conjunction with...
Monitoring of adult Lost River and shortnose suckers in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, 2008–2010
David A. Hewitt, Brian S. Hayes
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1301
Executive Summary In collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey began a consistent monitoring program for endangered Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Clear Lake Reservoir, California, in the fall of 2004. The program was intended to develop a more complete understanding of...
Selenium in ecosystems within the mountaintop coal mining and valley-fill region of southern West Virginia-assessment and ecosystem-scale modeling
Theresa S. Presser
2013, Professional Paper 1803
Coal and associated waste rock are among environmental selenium (Se) sources that have the potential to affect reproduction in fish and aquatic birds. Ecosystems of southern West Virginia that are affected by drainage from mountaintop coal mines and valleys filled with waste rock in the Coal, Gauley, and Lower Guyandotte...
Evaluation of total phosphorus mass balance in the lower Boise River and selected tributaries, southwestern Idaho
Alexandra B. Etheridge
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5220
he U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, developed spreadsheet mass-balance models for total phosphorus using results from three synoptic sampling periods conducted in the lower Boise River watershed during August and October 2012, and March 2013. The modeling reach spanned 46.4 river miles (RM)...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Arkoma Basin, Kansas Basins, and Midcontinent Rift Basin study areas
Marc L. Buursink, William H. Craddock, Madalyn S. Blondes, Phillip A. Freeman, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Celeste D. Lohr
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1024-F
2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. This methodology is non-economic...
Base of the upper layer of the phase-three Elkhorn-Loup groundwater-flow model, north-central Nebraska
Jennifer S. Stanton
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3259
The Elkhorn and Loup Rivers in Nebraska provide water for irrigation, recreation, hydropower production, aquatic life, and municipal water systems for the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. Groundwater is another important resource in the region and is extracted primarily for agricultural irrigation. Water managers of the area are interested in...
Changes in types and area of postharvest flooded fields available to waterbirds in Tulare Basin, California
Joseph P. Fleskes, Daniel A. Skalos, Melissa A. Farinha
2013, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (4) 351-361
Conservation efforts to restore historic waterbird distribution and abundance in the Central Valley of California require information on current and historic areas of waterbird habitat. To provide this information, we mapped the area of agricultural fields in the vicinity of the historic Tulare Lake Bed in the Tulare Basin, California,...
Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources: Columbia Basin of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the Western Oregon-Washington basins
Jacob A. Covault, Madalyn S. Blondes, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, P.A. Freeman, Celeste D. Lohr
Peter D. Warwick, M.D. Corum, editor(s)
2013, Open-File Report 2012-1024-D
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (Public Law 110–140) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of potential geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2). The methodology used by the USGS for the national CO2 assessment follows that of previous USGS work. The methodology is...
The effects of withdrawals and drought on groundwater availability in the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, Guam
Stephen B. Gingerich
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5216
Owing to population growth, freshwater demand on Guam has increased in the past and will likely increase in the future. During the early 1970s to 2010, groundwater withdrawals from the limestone Northern Guam Lens Aquifer, the main source of freshwater on the island, tripled from about 15 to 45 million...
Intra-population variation in activity ranges, diel patterns, movement rates, and habitat use of American alligators in a subtropical estuary
Adam E. Rosenblatt, Michael R. Heithaus, Frank M Mazzotti, Michael S. Cherkiss, Brian M. Jeffery
2013, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (135) 182-190
Movement and habitat use patterns are fundamental components of the behaviors of mobile animals and help determine the scale and types of interactions they have with their environments. These behaviors are especially important to quantify for top predators because they can have strong effects on lower trophic levels as well...
Laboratory-derived temperature preference and effect on the feeding rate and survival of juvenile Hemimysis anomala
Jennifer Sun, Lars S. Rudstam, Brent T. Boscarino, Maureen G. Walsh, Brian F. Lantry
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 630-636
Hemimysis anomala is a warm-water mysid that invaded the Great Lakes region in 2006 and has since rapidly spread throughout the basin. We conducted three laboratory experiments to better define the temperature preference, tolerance limits, and temperature effects on feeding rates of juvenile Hemimysis, using individuals acclimated to mid (16...
Use of reconstituted waters to evaluate effects of elevated major ions associated with mountaintop coal mining on freshwater invertebrates
James L. Kunz, Justin M. Conley, David B. Buchwalter, Norberg-King, J. Teresa, Nile E. Kemble, Ning Wang, Christopher G. Ingersoll
2013, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (32) 2826-2835
In previous laboratory chronic 7-d toxicity tests conducted with the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia, surface waters collected from Appalachian sites impacted by coal mining have shown toxic effects associated with elevated total dissolved solids (TDS). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of elevated major ions in...
The first five years of Kīlauea’s summit eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater, 2008–2013
Matthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr, A.J. Sutton, Tamar Elias, Donald A. Swanson
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3116
The eruption in Halema‘uma‘u Crater that began in March 2008 is the longest summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, on the Island of Hawai‘i, since 1924. From the time the eruption began, the new "Overlook crater" inside Halema‘uma‘u has exhibited fluctuating lava lake activity, occasional small explosive events, and a persistent...
