The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
2023, Professional Paper 1842-T
The key to Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) management is providing open grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs for foraging, nesting, and perching. Loggerhead Shrikes have been reported to use habitats with 20–266 centimeters (cm) vegetation height, greater than or equal to (≥) 10 percent grass cover, 3–48 percent forb cover,...
Identifying structural priors in a hybrid differentiable model for stream water temperature modeling
Farshid Rahmani, Alison P. Appling, Dapeng Feng, Kathryn Lawson, Chaopeng Shen
2023, Water Resources Research (59)
Although deep learning models for stream temperature (Ts) have recently shown exceptional accuracy, they have limited interpretability and cannot output untrained variables. With hybrid differentiable models, neural networks (NNs) can be connected to physically based equations (called structural priors) to output intermediate variables such...
How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance
Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Christopher J. McNeil, Emily Baker, Shad O'Neel
2023, Journal of Glaciology (69) 2169-2175
Innovations in geodesy enable widespread analysis of glacier surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance. However, coincident glacier area data are less widely available, causing inconsistent handling of glacier area change. Here we quantify the bias introduced into meters water equivalent (m w.e.) specific geodetic mass balance...
Satellite-derived prefire vegetation predicts variation in field-based invasive annual grass cover after fire
Christopher A Anthony, Cara Applestein, Matthew J. Germino
2023, Applied Vegetation Science (26)
AimsInvasion by annual grasses (IAGs) and concomitant increases in wildfire are impacting many drylands globally, and an understanding of factors that contribute to or detract from community resistance to IAGs is needed to inform postfire restoration interventions. Prefire vegetation condition is often unknown in rangelands but it...
Site fidelity of migratory shorebirds facing habitat deterioration: Insights from satellite tracking and mark-resighting
Ying-Chi Chan, David Tsz-Chung Chan, T. Lee Tibbitts, Chris J. Hassell, Theunis Piersma
2023, Movement Ecology (11)
BackgroundSite fidelity, the tendency to return to a previously visited site, is commonly observed in migratory birds. This behaviour would be advantageous if birds returning to the same site, benefit from their previous knowledge about local resources. However, when habitat quality declines at a site over time, birds...
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2022
Meghan T. Bell, N.Y. Montero
2023, Data Report 1186
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti...
Achieving success with RISE: A widely implementable, iterative, structured process for mastering interdisciplinary team science collaborations
Martha E. Mather, Gabriel Granco, Jason Bergtold, Marcellus Caldas, Jessica Heier Stamm, Aleksey Sheshukov, Matthew Sanderson, Melinda Daniels
2023, BioScience (73) 891-905
Scientific experts from different disciplines often struggle to mesh their specialized perspectives into the shared mindset that is needed to address difficult and persistent environmental, ecological, and societal problems. Many traditional graduate programs provide excellent research and technical skill training. However, these programs often do not teach a systematic way...
The species status assessment: A framework for assessing species status and risk to support endangered species management decisions
Conor P. McGowan, Nathan Allan, David R. Smith
2023, Book chapter, The codex of the Endangered Species Act, volume II
No abstract available....
Nitrate-nitrogen and total phosphorus river loads
Timothy O. Hodson
2023, Report, Illinois nutrient loss reduction strategy 2023 biennial update
Nitrate-nitrogen and total phosphorus loads from the major rivers draining Illinois were updated through the 2021 water year (Figure 3.1). Beginning with the 2023 biennial update to the Illinois NLRS, nutrient loads were estimated using data from the U.S. Geological Survey continuous monitoring stations rather than the original Illinois EPA...
Evaluating water-quality conditions in the mainstem and tidal reaches of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, June to September 2020
Kaitlin L. Laabs, Casey Beaudoin, Jason R. Sorenson, Alex Bissell
2023, Data Report 1166
In summer and early fall (June to September) 2020, water-quality data were collected at 13 stations along the mainstem of the Merrimack River and into the Merrimack River estuary. The data are allocated among three different datasets: discrete water sample data, discrete vertical profile data, and continuous data. The collective...
Total shortening estimates across the western Greater Caucasus Mountains from balanced cross sections and area balancing
Charles Cashman Trexler, Eric S. Cowgill, Dylan A Vasey, Nathan A. Niemi
2023, Tektonika (1) 198-208
The Greater Caucasus orogen forms the northern edge of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Although the orogen has long been assumed to exhibit dominantly thick-skinned style deformation via reactivation of high-angle extensional faults, recent work suggests the range may have accommodated several hundred kilometers or more of shortening...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. Euliss
2023, Professional Paper 1842-LL
Keys to Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) management are providing large areas of suitable habitat (for example, native or tame grasslands of moderate vegetative height and density, low shrub density, and moderate litter and forb cover), and protecting nesting habitat from disturbance during the breeding season. Bobolinks have been reported to use...
Preliminary geologic map of the Southern Santa Rosa Mountains and Borrego Badlands, San Diego County, Southern California
Jarg R. Pettinga, Stephanie L. Dudash, Pamela M. Cossette
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1076
This investigation delineates the geologic framework of an area of 75 square kilometers (km2) located west of the Salton Sea in southern California (fig. 1, on sheet 1). The study area encompasses the south flank of the Santa Rosa Mountains and the eastern part of the Borrego Badlands (sheet 1)....
Your land, your water—Using research to guide conservation practices on local farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
James S. Webber, John W. Clune, Alexander M. Soroka, Kenneth Hyer
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3050
Agricultural lands are an important part of the economy and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and are a focus of conservation activities. Streams and rivers around farms provide communities with drinking water and recreational opportunities, but these local benefits can be impaired by elevated nutrient and sediment concentrations. Compared...
Influence of a guide net on the presence and behavior of fish near the selective water withdrawal structure in Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon, 2022
Collin D. Smith, Tyson W. Hatton
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1090
Imaging sonar was used to assess the influence of a fish guidance net, installed at the entrances to the selective water withdrawal (SWW) intake structure, in the forebay of Round Butte Dam, Oregon, on behavior, abundance, and timing of fish during the spring of 2022. The purposes of the SWW...
An amplicon genotyping panel suitable for species identification and population genetics in sauger (Sander canadensis) and walleye (Sander vitreus)
Jared Joseph Homola, Wesley A. Larson, Paul Albosta
2023, Conservation Genetics Resources (16) 103-110
Sauger (Sander canadensis) and walleye (Sander vitreus) are closely related North American fish species that are often managed by fishery agencies throughout their ranges. However, genotyping resources for sauger are presently limited to a small set of microsatellite loci. We evaluated whether primers in an existing walleye genotyping-in-thousands panel could...
Examining the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the mid-atlantic region of the United States
Karen C. Rice, Christopher A. Mason, Aaron L. Mills
2023, Environmental Research Communications (5)
We explored the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In 124 watersheds across this region, we quantified spatial and temporal variation in air temperature (AT), precipitation (P), and streamflow (Q) from 1981 through 2020. Upward directional trends in monthly...
Using a coupled integral projection model to investigate interspecific competition during an invasion: An application to silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum)
James P Peirce, Gregory Sandland, David Schumann, Hannah Mann Thompson, Richard A. Erickson
2023, Letters in Biomathematics (10) 175-184
As a generalization of stage-based matrix models, integral projection models (IPMs) have been used to describe the size-based dynamics of wildlife and fisheries populations. Although some matrix models have explicitly included species interactions, few IPMs have expanded beyond single species, which limits their ability to describe the competitive dynamics of co-occuring...
Two-dimensional inverse energy cascade in a laboratory surf zone for varying wave directional spread
Christine Baker, Melissa Moulton, C Chris Chickadel, Emma Nuss, Margaret L. Palmsten, Katherine L. Brodie
2023, Physics of Fluids (35)
Surfzone eddies enhance the dispersion and transport of contaminants, bacteria, and larvae across the nearshore, altering coastal water quality and ecosystem health. During directionally spread wave conditions, vertical vortices (horizontal eddies) are injected near the ends of breaking crests. Energy associated with these eddies may be transferred to larger-scale, low-frequency...
Applying intrinsic potential models to evaluate salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) introduction into main-stem and tributary habitats upstream from the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, northern Washington
Jeffrey J. Duda, Jill M. Hardiman
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1077
We assessed habitat suitability for salmonids across selected tributaries upstream from three hydroelectric dams on the upper Skagit River in Whatcom County, northern Washington. We used NetMap, a commercial toolset within the ArcMap geographic information system (GIS), to analyze stream attributes based upon a synthetic stream channel network derived from...
The context dependency of fish-habitat associations in separated karst ecoregions
Dusty A. Swedberg, Robert M. Mollenhauer, Shannon K. Brewer
2023, Ecology and Evolution (13)
Fish populations may be isolated via natural conditions in geographically separated ecoregions. Although reconnecting these populations is not a management goal, we need to understand how these populations persist across landscapes to develop meaningful conservation actions, particularly for species occupying sensitive karst ecosystems. Our study objective was to determine the...
Forage senescence and disease influence elk pregnancy across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Owen R. Bidder, Thomas Connor, Juan M. Morales, Gregory J.M. Rickbeil, Jerod A. Merkle, Rebecca K. Fuda, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, William H Edwards, Eric K. Cole, Douglas E. McWhirter, Alyson B. Courtemanch, Sarah Dewey, Matthew Kauffman, Daniel R. MacNulty, Johan T. du Toit, Daniel R. Stahler, Arthur D. Middleton
2023, Ecosphere (14)
For various temperate ungulate species, recent research has highlighted the potential for spring vegetation phenology (“green-up”) to influence individual condition, with purported benefits to population productivity. However, few studies have been able to measure the benefit on vital rates directly, and fewer still have investigated the comparative influence of other...
Bayesian hierarchical modeling for probabilistic estimation of tsunami amplitude from far-field earthquake sources
Georgios Boumis, Eric L. Geist, Danhyang Lee
2023, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (128)
Evaluation of tsunami disaster risk for a coastal region requires reliable estimation of tsunami hazard, for example, wave amplitude close to the shore. Observed tsunami data are scarce and have poor spatial coverage, and for this reason probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA) traditionally relies on numerical simulation...
Backpack satellite transmitters reduce survival but not nesting propensity or success of greater sage-grouse
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Cody A. Tisdale, Kylie N. Denny, Andrew Meyers, Paul Makela
2023, Ecology and Evolution (13)
Telemetry technology is ubiquitous for studying the behavior and demography of wildlife, including the use of traditional very high frequency (VHF) radio telemetry and more recent methods that record animal locations using global positioning systems (GPS). Satellite-based GPS telemetry allows researchers to collect high...
Maps of active layer thickness in northern Alaska by upscaling P-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar retrievals
Jane Whitcomb, Richard Chen, Daniel Clewley, John S. Kimball, Neal Pastick, Yonghong Yi, Mahta Moghaddam
2023, Environmental Research Letters (19)
Extensive, detailed information on the spatial distribution of active layer thickness (ALT) in northern Alaska and how it evolves over time could greatly aid efforts to assess the effects of climate change on the region and also help to quantify greenhouse gas emissions generated due to permafrost...
